Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Professor David Lewis / Thomas Bird

Developing a Hepatocellular Carcinoma Subtype — Specific PET Radiotracer for Preclinical PET Imaging

Salary: from £37,000 to £42,893 subject to experience, plus relocation allowance and visa costs if required.

Contract term: Fixed up to 6 years, subject to successful review at Year 3.

The CRUK Scotland Institute is a cancer research institute, situated in Glasgow with approximately 250 researchers split across 30 research groups consisting of PIs, postdoctoral scientists, PhD students and scientific officers. It is one of Europe's leading cancer research centres, supporting cutting‑edge work into the molecular mechanisms of cancer development. As well as core support from Cancer Research UK, the Institute also receives an additional third of its total income from external grants and industry collaborations.

It has an excellent reputation for fundamental cancer research, including world‑class metabolism studies and renowned in vivo modelling of tumour growth and metastasis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous and often treatment‑resistant cancer, with no clinically validated biomarkers to guide patients toward the most effective targeted therapies. A clinically important HCC subtype driven by activation of the canonical Wnt/β‑catenin pathway is strongly immune evasive and frequently resistant to immunotherapy. Despite its significance, this subtype cannot currently be reliably identified using genetic profiling alone.

This Jules Thorne funded programme brings together a multidisciplinary team to develop the first subtype‑specific precision approach for HCC. The project integrates metabolic biomarker discovery and validation, state‑of‑the‑art GEMMs and patient‑derived organoid models, clinical sample analysis from prospective patient cohorts, and advanced radiochemistry and metabolic PET imaging. Together, these approaches aim to establish the first subtype‑specific therapeutic strategy for early‑phase HCC clinical trials.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Scientist to contribute to the development of a PET imaging probe targeting glutamine synthetase (GS), a downstream effector of canonical Wnt/β‑catenin signalling, to detect this tumour subtype in vivo. The project builds on the recent discovery of a non‑canonical enzymatic function of GS (Villar et al., Nature Chemical Biology, 2023). The successful candidate will work on radiotracer synthesis, preclinical PET/MRI imaging, and ultimately clinical translation.

• Conduct independent research for radio labelling and characterisation of C‑11 PET tracers, including synthesis, purification, and analytical quality control.
• Perform in‑vitro validation of tracer uptake, specificity, and stability in relevant HCC models.
• Carry out preclinical PET/MRI imaging using established murine liver cancer models to assess metabolic changes.
• Perform quantitative analysis of imaging and ex vivo validation datasets.
• Support translational and GMP‑aligned radiochemistry activities in preparation for future clinical application.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, including oncologists, immunologists, and imaging experts, to drive the research programme forward.
• Prepare high‑quality research manuscripts and present findings at national and international conferences.

• PhD (or near completion) in radiochemistry, chemistry, cancer biology, molecular imaging, biomedical sciences, or a related discipline.
• Experience in PET radiochemistry, tracer handling, or working with radioisotopes.
• Experience in laboratory‑based experimental research, such as cancer biology, molecular imaging, analytical chemistry, or radiotracer validation.
• Ability to work independently, manage experimental workflows, and proactively drive research progress.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary environment.

• Experience with murine in‑vivo cancer models.
• Background in cancer metabolism.
• Familiarity with preclinical…