Research Associate in Translational Immunology

This postdoctoral position sits within a multidisciplinary research programme aimed at identifying therapeutic antigen targets for antibody-based treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The project leverages the immunosuppressive properties of regulatory T cells (Tregs) to develop precision medicine strategies for IBD patients, with strong commercial potential.

The successful candidate will identify the most suppressive Treg subsets within IBD lesions and translate these findings into clinically relevant applications. This will involve mapping immune subtype gene expression across publicly available datasets, validating findings in gut tissue from IBD patients, and applying spatial proteomics to localise surface markers within tissue architecture.

The role offers an exceptional opportunity to build an independent research profile at the forefront of translational immunology, collaborating closely with Professor Peter Irving, gastroenterology specialist at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, alongside immunologists and bioinformaticians. We are looking for a motivated individual with strong communication skills and a genuine enthusiasm for translational immunology research.

This is a full time (35 hours a week), and you will be offered an fixed term contract 1st August 2026 to 30th June 2027.

While some flexible or hybrid working may be considered, regular in-person onsite will be required.

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers
, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP equivalent up to and including grade
7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

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

• PhD in Immunology, Systems Biology, or a related discipline *
• Experience in cellular and molecular immunology techniques, including flow cytometry, ex vivo Treg expansion, intracellular cytokine assays, and functional immuneassays
• Experience in designing and optimising antibody panels and implement quality control for IMC
• Experience in image analysis and single-cell multi-omic data analysis
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively to multidisciplinary collaborative research
• Excellent communication, and scientific writing skills with evidence of contributing to papers, abstracts, funding applications and/orreports
• Advanced programming and data analysis skills in R and/or Python
• Demonstrate experience in systems immunology
• Experience working with human clinical samples

* 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.

• Post-doctoral or equivalent industry experience in immunology
• Experience in analysing high-dimensional and spatial data, including imaging mass cytometry (IMC)
• Experience applying machine learning methods to analyse biomedical dataset