Research Associate (Kings)

UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI)

Dementia is one of the greatest health challenge of our century. To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of the diseases that cause it. The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative driving forward research to fill this gap.

We are a globally leading multidisciplinary research institute of 850 staff investigating the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders causing dementia, with laboratory-based research groups located at University College London, the University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, Edinburgh University, Imperial College London, and King’s College London.

Dr Andrea Serio & Dr. Sarah Marzi are seeking a highly motivated and skilled Research Associate at the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at King’s College London.

This opportunity would suit a bright, talented, highly motivated, and ambitious individual to who will play a key role working on a project focused on the development of a multiomic platform to investigate early molecular signatures of ALS pathology in human motor neurons using a novel system developed in the Serio lab.

You will have a track record and experience in stem cell in vitro modelling, bioinformatics, data analysis, -omics approaches in biology and a keen interest in neuroscience and neurodegeneration.

You will have at least a PhD in a relevant field and postdoc experience in a research lab with projects, preferably focused on neurobiology or neurodegeneration.

You will work with other team members across the Serio and Marzi lab to generate stem cell based models of ALS using a novel cell culture platform and will lead on the multiomic analysis to compare different genotypes. You? will specifically generate multiomic data, including next-generation sequencing and proteomic data from in vitro models of ALS, and analyse newly generated data and public datasets that may include RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, proteomics and single cell/nuclei datasets.

The Successful candidate will be highly motivated with demonstrable experience in stem cell modelling, multiomics and bioinformatics. The research you will work on is multidisciplinary and you will work closely with members of Dr Sarah Marzi’s lab groupat the UK DRI.

The role will be linked to a MNDA project and a UK DRI funded programme, and you will work between the labs based in BCN and the Francis Crick Institute.

Some of the key skills involved include;

• To conduct high quality research under the supervision of Dr Serio and Dr Marzi, and in collaboration with other members of the Serio group.
• To present findings in regular group meetings to the PI and colleagues.
• Work in a collaborative manner, sharing knowledge and expertise within the team, department and with collaborators.

Essential criteria

1. PhD awarded in Neurobiology, Bioinformatics or similar field
2. Demonstrable practical and theorical expertise in a Neuroscience or Neurodegeneration project
3. Experience with Live imaging systems
4. Experience with iPSC based in vitro models
5. Knowledge of basic neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and ALS
6. Practical experience in a broad range of bioinformatics approaches, including the analyses of some or all of the following assays: RNA-seq (NGS and longreads), Single cell genomics, ChIPeq/CUT&Tag/ATAC-seq, Proteomics
7. Strong programming skills in R, python or other coding languages
8. Practical experience with a high-performance computing and Unix/Linux environments

Desirable criteria

1. Ability to work with version control systems, i.e., Git and GitHub
2. Knowledge of next-generation genomic approaches, specifically those pertaining to RNA and chromatin biology

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