PhD studentship to study the role of kidney-resident NK cells in the control of human cytomegalovirus & BK virus infections

Job title:

PhD studentship to study the role of kidney-resident NK cells in the control of human cytomegalovirus & BK virus infections

Company

University College London

Job description

About usA 3-year PhD studentship is available and funded by Kidney Research UK (Professor Michael Nicholson PhD Studentship Award). The student will be jointly supervised by Professor Reza Motallebzadeh, Research Department of Surgical Biotechnology, UCL Division of surgery and Interventional Sciences and Dr Matthew Reeves, Group Leader in UCL Division of Infection & Immunity.The student will be based in the newly established state-of-art Pears Building (UCL Institute of Immunity & Transplantation), and will at the interface of renal transplantation, transplant immunology and virology. The successful candidate will become part of a team of multiple PhD students, post-doctoral scientists and research technicians with extensive experience in basic science and translational research in transplant immunology and virology providing support to the student with training in laboratory techniques.Academic and clinical partners also include the Centre for Surgical Innovation, Organ Repair and Transplantation within the UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science. (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/surgery/research/surgical-innovation-and-transplants), Centre for Kidney & Bladder Health within the UCL Division of Medicine, (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/medicine/news/2023/aug/ucl-centre-kidney-and-bladder-health), and The Royal Free London NHS Trust, which has a history of pioneering treatments for kidney disease, establishing some of the earliest UK programmes for kidney dialysis and transplantation, and currently performing 140 kidney transplants per year. The collaboration supports the integration of clinical transplantation with world class immunological science for the benefit of patients accessing nephrology services at the Royal Free London NHS Trust.About the roleAbout the roleThis exciting and ambitious study will generate new information regarding the activity of tissue-resident NK cells against two important viruses in renal transplantation. We will generate mechanistic understanding of the function of NK cell subsets against HCMV and test whether this is applicable to BKV, identifying commonalities and differences. Importantly, our ability to integrate these studies with clinical data on in-vivo infection in renal transplant recipients (at The Royal Free Hospital) will allow us to demonstrate the relevance of our findings to situations in which HCMV and BKV infections are a major clinical problem. Finally, the use of renal transplant tissue and (thus live donors) provides the capability to develop a more reliable and tractable system for investigating allogeneic vs syngeneic interactions not possible in the liver model.Duties and responsibilities

• Carry out experimental work to a high standard
• To ensure research governance principles are abided in compliance with Good Research Practice, Good Laboratory Practice, UCL’s Code of Practice for graduate research degrees (https://ucl.ac.uk/doctoral-school/sites/doctoral_school/files/graduate-research-degrees-code-of-practice-2223.pdf), UCL’s Research Governance Framework (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/governance-compliance/research-governance) and Research Integrity Framework (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/research/integrity)
• To comply with UCL’s regulatory framework for the assessment and examination of Postgraduate Research students (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/sites/academic_manual/files/chapter_5_part_a_research_degree_regulations_2023-24.pdf)
• Register for a MPhil and submit a PhD thesis for examination
• To complete the mandatory training required as a UCL Doctoral Student
• Fully participate in training courses available through the UCL Doctoral Skills Development Programme
• To keep a record of academic progress on the UCL Graduate Research Student elog
• Contribute to scientific communication of the laboratory’s outputs: posters, presentations, and papers
• To prepare and present findings of research activity to colleagues for review purposes
• To prepare progress reports on research for funding bodies as required
• To present work at collaborator meetings and conferences nationally and internationally
• To contribute to the Department’s internal seminar series and teaching bench techniques to members of other groups

EligibilityDue to funding restrictions, the studentship covers the university tuition fees for UK students only. Criteria for UK students is explained here https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/fees-and-funding/pay-your-fees/fee-schedules/student-fee-status#eligibility. Please do not submit an application if you do not meet UK student fee eligibility.This is a fully funded 3-year studentship to cover a UK student’s UCL tuition fees, plus a £21,000 pa stipend for living costs increasing with inflation, as well as a top-up contribution towards travel and consumables. The fees are only covered at the UK rate due to the funding availability.Application processTo apply for the vacancy please email a covering letter (including names and contact details of two referees), one-page research statement and a two-page summary CV to Professor Reza Motallebzadeh (r.motallebzadeh@ucl.ac.uk). Regrettably, we are only able to contact shortlisted applicants who are successful at the shortlisting stage. The successful candidate will be required to formally apply online via the UCL website. If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the HR Team on l.oppong@ucl.ac.ukAbout youThe candidate will hold or expecting to achieve an undergraduate degree at 2:1 or higher, or hold or expect to achieve a master’s degree (or equivalent) in biological/biomedical sciences. The candidate will be expected to be a critical thinker and have the ability to work independently. The candidate is expected to demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills, both in English and scientific language for communication with academic staff, publication in relevant journals and presentation at conferences. A DBS check is required for this role.If you have any queries about the role, please contact Professor Reza Motallebzadeh (r.motallebzadeh@ucl.ac.uk) and/or Dr Matthew Reeves (matthew.reeves@ucl.ac.uk).Desirable

• Lab experience including multiparameter flow cytometry for phenotypic and functional characterisation of immune cell populations, tissue culture, ELISA and molecular biology eg qPCR
• Experience in biostatistical methodology
• Flexible, able to work collaboratively – this may include some out of hours work due to the nature of clinical sample collection from renal transplant recipients
• A strong team player with good interpersonal skills able to build and sustain effective

What we offerOur Departments have proven commitment to teaching and supervision as evidenced by the high number of students who have successfully completed theses, presented data in national/international nephrology, transplantation, virology and immunology meetings and produced publications in peer-reviewed journals. In addition our students regularly present at departmental and inter-departmental meetings and coaching on presentation skills are provided.As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, UCL also offers excellent student support services : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students; https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/support-and-wellbeing/student-enquiries-centreOur commitment to Equality, Diversity and InclusionAs London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.Both host Divisions hold an Athena Swan Sliver award in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality. Dr Reeves is the Co-chair of the Infection & Immunity EDI/Athena Swan Committee.

Expected salary

£21000 per year

Location

North West London

Job date

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 02:30:47 GMT

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