Job rerference number WJSE117914MM

Applications are invited for a post-doctoral Research Associate Position at King’s College London. The project is focused on the understanding of processes by which skeletal muscle fibroblasts become adipocytes. The project is funded by the BBSRC in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and is located within the research group of Professor Stephen Harridge in the Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences on the Guy’s campus. Fat and fibrotic infiltration causes a decline in muscle quality with ageing and in a number of muscular diseases. The main goals of the research are to study the adipogenic transdifferentiation potential of muscle fibroblasts in regard to the signaling molecules which may initiate their adipogenic conversion, as well as demonstrating the viability of transdifferentiated cells in vivo. This will involve a range of techniques including human primary cell culture, immunocytochemistry, real time imaging, in vivo animal work (xenotransplantation) and also RNA deep sequencing. We wish to appoint a highly motivated researcher with expertise in cell biology (ideally muscle) with experience in primary cell culture and a broad range of molecular and cellular techniques

The post holder will contribute to the design and management of the research project, implementing the project’s brief and the research objectives and in particular in integration of the different methods used across the project. The appointment will be made within the grade 6 salary scale, currently £31,644 - £37,756 per annum, plus £2,323 London allowance per annum minimum. Benefits includes 27 working days annual leave. Staff receive four additional closure days. Notification as to how these days are taken is circulated at the start of the academic year.