Research Assistant in bioinformatics in London

Dr. Robert Knight and Dr. Heba Sailem at King's College London are looking for a research assistant with computational expertise to join their team in a multidisciplinary project funded by the Vivensa Foundation. The post will be based between the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology in the heart of London. Research in Dr. Sailem's group includes development of advanced AI and visualisation tools for multimodal imaging data. Dr. Knight applies advanced microscopy and molecular profiling methods to investigate cell and tissue biology in the context of regeneration and homeostasis.

We welcome applications from candidates with appropriate computational expertise who are keen to build solutions for analysing biological data generated in the project. Research staff training and development is actively supported at King's through the action plan for the Concordat for Research Staff.

We are looking for candidates with experience of building and applying computational tools for analysing bioimaging data, RNA-sequencing data and spatial transcriptomics data. Candidates should have proficiency in writing and implementing Python scripts, have experience of working with a variety of machine learning and AI models, be aware of safe and trusted research practice and be comfortable working with experimental datasets.

This Vivensa Foundation funded project aims to identify candidate causal factors driving impaired muscle repair and homeostasis in ageing. The post holder would work in a team with a postdoctoral researcher who is generating datasets by live imaging of cells in zebrafish, RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. The role of the research assistant is to create AI models for:

• classifying cell behaviour from imaging datasets of cells,
• analysis of RNA-sequencing datasets from multiple species, and
• analysing spatial transcriptomics datasets for predicting molecular signalling between cells.

The appointee will be responsible to Dr. Heba Sailem (line manager) and Dr. Robert Knight (project lead). They will attend regular group meetings and team meetings to discuss and plan project progress. Candidates should have a solid research track record, be committed to the project and keen to work in a multidisciplinary team.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for one year ending no later than 31/01/2028. Research staff at King's are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development.

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

Essential criteria

• Experience of bioimage analysis.
• Computational programming skills (Python).
• Experience of training and using machine learning and AI models.
• Experience of analysing RNA sequencing data.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including the ability to write for publication, present research proposals and results, and represent the research group at meetings.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of analysing spatial transcriptomics data.
• Experience of performing gene regulatory network analysis or metabolomics modelling.
• Experience of using other relevant computational tools.
• Experience of contributing to reports and articles for publication.

At King's, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King's guidance. Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant's own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day. Interviews are due to be held in late August/September.