"Research Associate"

About us

The UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI) Centre is comprised of 7 groups and is embedded within the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience at King’s College London (www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/depts/bcn/dri/lab-groups).

The DRI is a national consortium focused on cutting-edge dementia research funded by the Medical Research Council

About the role

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.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an a fixed term contract until 30/09/28.

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

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

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 in early December.

This post is subject to an Occupational Health clearance.

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

Job ID:129506

Close Date:02-Dec-2025

Contact Person:Dr Andrea Serio

Contact Details:andrea.serio@kcl.ac.uk