Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cardiovascular Biology

About us

The School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS), is one of six schools in the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine (FoLSM) at King College London. The School drives translation of world-leading basic science into advances in clinical practice in cardiac, vascular and metabolic medicine.  The School also hosts activities of the MRC/BHF Centre of Excellence for Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics (REACT) and the BHF Centre of Research Excellence at King’s.

About the role

Applications are invited for one talented and enthusiastic postdoctoral scientist to join Dr Lingfang Zeng’s laboratory at the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at King's College London. The postholders will be part of a vibrant multi-disciplinary research group operating across different research themes in cardiac biology, having the specific aim to develop small peptides for cardiovascular protection.

In particular, the post-holders will investigate the effect and underlying mechanisms of histone deacetylase 7-derived 7-amino acid peptide (7A) on endothelial cells and evaluate its protection against cardiac fibrosis in myocardial infarction. This work will be performed in primary human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) and umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and 7A-deficient (HD7-7sFLAG) and Tie2-LacZ mouse myocardial infarction models, all of which are currently available in the laboratory.

Minimum qualifications are PhD and/or MD with expertise in molecular and cellular biology and prior experience in animal surgery (ideally cardiac surgery), also for different applications.  Candidates should be highly motivated individuals with excellent communication skills and have the ability to work independently. The post holders will have the opportunity to write and publish results of research studies in high impact score peer-reviewed journals and report research results at international conferences.

The post is based within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences at the James Black Centre (King’s Denmark Hill campus) as part of the King’s College London BHF Centre of Research Excellence and the MRC/BHF Centre for Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics (REACT). The School and these Centres provide an outstanding highly multidisciplinary environment with state-of-the-art equipment, facilities and technical support for both laboratory work and animal studies.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st March 2028.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria 

• PhD in relevant biological sciences and/or MD 
• Strong expertise in cellular and molecular biology 
• Knowledge in cardiovascular medicine  
• Self-motivated, ability to work independently 
• Commitment to continuing personal and professional development 
• Willing and able to work in a team 
• Flexible/able to respond to change in a current professional context

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in animal models of cardiovascular disease 
• Experience in tissue and organ handling and processing, including histological analysis 
• Past experience in animal surgery

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