Clinical Research Fellow

The Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College would like to recruit a Clinical Research Fellow to start in October/November 2026 within the Translational Colorectal Research Laboratory (). This is an exciting opportunity to pursue an MD in surgery under the supervision of senior academics with track-records of internationally impactful research whilst maintaining clinical skills by providing on call cover in a leading London teaching hospital.

In 2025, Imperial College ranked number 2nd globally in the QS World University Rankings and number 1 overall in the UK Research Excellence Framework. It currently has the highest research impact of all Russel Group Universities. Imperial College NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS trusts in England. In  it had a turnover of £1.3bn and treated 1.3M people. The Colorectal Department comprises 7 consultants with a wide scope of specialist practice in colorectal oncology, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, inflammatory bowel disease and pelvic floor function.

This combined clinical / academic post will allow the successful candidate to work towards an MD in surgery by developing skills in research design, study conduct, statistical analysis, and output dissemination. You must be able to demonstrate some previous experience in research and must show evidence of ability to develop personal research projects. Individuals will be encouraged to apply for independent grant funding and to contribute to the University community to further their academic portfolio.

Within this department is a unique opportunity to contribute to research projects across disciplines through collaboration in areas such as medical engineering, cognitive surgery, omics sciences, microbiome science, patient safety and robotics.

The posts will be supervised by Mr James Kinross, an international leader in colorectal cancer research who is highly engaged in teaching, education, and leadership activities within and outside of Imperial College.

The specific research project will be “Chemogut” – defining microbiome chemotherapy interactions in colon cancer. The scope of the research may entail clinical trials, microbiome work, various analytical techniques, and scientific laboratory skills in collaboration with scientists across Imperial College and other universities.

Clinical commitments will be primarily conducted at Charing Cross Hospital with cover of a 1:8 General Surgery on call rota. Further work may be undertaken to provide on-call/cover or clinics at the supervisors’ discretion.

The University is supportive of flexible working. The Department is happy to discuss the possibility of implementing such arrangements for this post, with suitably qualified people subject to operational arrangements.

Key Responsibilities within Imperial

• Provide a commitment to Imperial College London over a period to perform research leading to an MD.
• Plan and carry out research in accordance with the project aims.
• Generate and display the results and interpret their implications.
• Write results for publication and dissemination via presentations and peer-reviewed journals.
• Present research findings to colleagues and at conferences.
• Maintain accurate and complete records of all findings.
• Develop contacts and research collaborations within the Department/Division/Faculty and wider academic community to further the project aims.
• Comply with relevant University policies, including Financial Regulations, Equal Opportunities Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy, Health and Safety Policy, Information Systems Security Policy and Intellectual Property Rights and Register of Interests Policies.

Key responsibilities in associated Hospital

These will be defined in a separate job…