"Postdoctoral Research Associate"

About Us

King’s College London and its partner NHS Trusts - King’s College Hospital and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital together have one of the largest chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell programmes in the UK with licensed and experimental CAR-T products being administered for patients with B-cell leukaemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, solid tumours and autoimmune disease. It has MHRA accredited GMP facilities for manufacturing of CAR-T cells and other Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), with 2 academic CAR-T trials due to commence in 2026 for B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

The Cellular Immunotherapy lab at KCL led by Dr Reuben Benjamin is focused on developing novel CAR-T cells for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disease, investigating mechanisms of resistance to CAR-T cells and leading academic CAR-T cell clinical trials with in-house manufactured CAR-T cells.

Dr Chris Wincup’s Translational Rheumatology lab integrates translational immunology and immunometabolism to understand and treat systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly SLE and lupus nephritis. The lab investigates patient cohorts with deep immune phenotyping utilising multi-omics (single-cell sequencing, flow cytometry/CyTOF, metabolomics), cellular bioenergetics, and tissue immunology to discover biomarkers and develop precision, mechanism-guided treatments.

About The Role

We are looking to appoint a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a dynamic team at King’s College London involved in clinical and translational research of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune condition. The postholder will be responsible for evaluating the efficacy of a next generation CD19 targeted CAR-T cell product (pCAR19) against autoreactive B cells in SLE, optimising a GMP rapid manufacturing process for pCAR19 cells from SLE patients and investigating the impact of immunosuppressive and glucocorticoid treatment on the production of pCAR19 cells (ACCELERATE study). Results from this work will form the basis for a planned future phase 1 study of pCAR19 in relapsed refractory SLE patients.

This is a full time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30/06/2027.

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.

About You

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD qualified in relevant subject area (or pending results)
2. Strong background in Immunology
3. Proficient in flow cytometry and data analysis
4. Experience with analysing, presenting scientific data
5. Publication(s) in related field

Desirable criteria

1. Experience with viral vectors
2. Experience with CAR-T cells
3. Prior research in autoimmune disease and/or B-cell malignancies
4. Experience in processing blood or tissue samples
5. GMP experience

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

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.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on 10/11/2025.

Grade and Salary: £45,031 - £46,189, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 127305

Close Date: 26-Oct-2025

Contact Person: Reuben Benjamin

Contact Details: reuben.benjamin@kcl.ac.uk