Research Fellow

Job title:

Research Fellow

Company

University College London

Job description

About us We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic postdoctoral research assistant to work on our British Heart Foundation sponsored project to investigate stem cell and biomaterial therapies for heart disease. The successful candidate will join Dr Daniel Stuckey’s team and will be based at the UCL Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging (CABI) in central London www.ucl.ac.uk/centre-for-advanced-biomedical-imaging/. This role is to cover maternity leave and is for a duration of at least 6 months, with a possibility of further extension.About the role Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Research from our lab and by others has indicated that stem cell therapies can regenerate damaged tissue and prevent heart failure. Our team at UCL, in collaboration with Prof. Molly Stevens Group at Imperial www.stevensgroup.org and the BHF’s Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine Centre www.imperial.ac.uk/bhf-regenerative-medicine/ are now testing new methods to repair the hearts of rodents, with the aim of translating our findings into clinical trials within 5 years. The postdoctoral research assistant will play a key role in this collaborative project by developing biomaterial and stem cell therapies and generating surgical models of heart disease which can be treated using these novel therapeutics. Experience of synthesising and characterising biomaterials and testing them in small animal models of regenerative medicine would be advantageous. An exciting element of this project is the use of advanced and clinically relevant imaging methods to evaluate how effective the cell therapies have been. These studies will be performed in the Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging – a vibrant, multidisciplinary research centre and one of the premier biomedical imaging units in Europe. The Centre has a vast array of small animal imaging modalities, including MRI, PET and ultrasound. You will learn how to use these methods to image heart function and track the location of the grafted stem cells in vivo, allowing novel regenerative medicine approaches to be assessed.About you The applicant will lead on biomaterial synthesis, stem cell culture and transplantation into small animal models of heart disease. Therefore, experience with synthesis and characterisation of a range of biomaterials, and of small animal surgery or strong evidence for possessing the precision, dexterity and dedication required to learn complex surgical techniques is essential. You should have a degree in a scientific or medical discipline. Experience with imaging, heart disease, or stem cells is also desirable. Candidates are expected to have excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work well in an interdisciplinary research team environment. You will also be responsible for some administrative and managerial aspects of the group. It would be expected that the successful applicant will present data arising from this project at leading conferences and publish in high impact journals. This position offers an exciting opportunity to become part of the BHF’s team who are dedicated to try and treat heart disease and will allow the candidate to learn a wide range of skills that will be valuable for their future career.What we offer This is an exciting opportunity to join a multidisciplinary team working across the Division of Medicine. As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: • 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) • Additional 5 days’ annual leave purchase scheme • Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) • Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan • Immigration loan • Relocation scheme for certain posts • On-Site nursery • On-site gym • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay • Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service • Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion As London’s Global University, we knowdiversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community torepresent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality ofopportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we allbelong. We therefore particularly encourageapplications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’sworkforce. These include people from Black, Asian andethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silveraward, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancinggender equality.Available documents

Expected salary

Location

North West London

Job date

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 07:10:49 GMT

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