Postdoctoral Research Associate in Nanoneedle Biointerfaces and Translational Nanomedicine

About us

King's College London is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Chiappini Lab in the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology. The laboratory is internationally recognised for engineering nanoneedle biointerfaces that enable intracellular delivery and molecular sampling in living systems. It pioneered biodegradable porous-silicon nanoneedles for efficient in vivo nucleic-acid delivery ( Nature Materials, 2015 ), established nanoneedle approaches for delivery and therapeutic gene editing in clinically relevant tissues including the corneal endothelium( Advanced Materials, Advanced Sciences, ACS Nano ), and recently demonstrated non-destructive spatiotemporal molecular profiling of living tissues ( Nature Nanotechnology, 2025 ). This work is underpinned by an extensive publication and intellectual-property portfolio and sustained competitive funding from the European Research Council, Royal Society, UKRI, charities and industry.

The post brings together nanofabrication and device engineering at the London Centre for Nanotechnology with quantitative cell and tissue biology at King's Guy's Campus. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary environment spanning bioengineering, molecular biology, ophthalmology and translational medicine, with access to advanced cleanroom, imaging and biological facilities.

About the role

The postholder will take scientific and operational ownership of developing a new nanoneedle device for repeated intracellular access. The disruptive advance is not simply a more efficient transfection substrate. The aim is to create an engineered interface that can sample intracellular material or deliver molecular cargo repeatedly, including at short defined intervals, while causing minimal perturbation to cell viability, phenotype, barrier function and tissue architecture. This would allow the same living cells or tissues to be measured and manipulated longitudinally, replacing destructive endpoint workflows with time-resolved experiments and opening a route towards feedback-enabled research, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

You will define performance requirements and decision criteria, design and iterate nanoneedle architectures, and establish reproducible fabrication, assembly and quality-control procedures using the cleanroom facilities at the London Centre for Nanotechnology. You will characterise device geometry, porosity, surface chemistry, mechanical and interfacial behaviour, loading and release, and device-to-device variability.

You will then establish repeated sampling and delivery protocols in mammalian cells and corneal endothelial models, progressing to ex vivo tissue where appropriate. Quantitative studies will determine how access frequency, dose and device parameters influence molecular yield or delivery efficiency, recovery kinetics, viability and biological function. The work will require rigorous experimental design, appropriate controls and benchmarks, statistical analysis, traceable data and predefined acceptance criteria.

The role carries substantial intellectual ownership and is suited to a researcher who can work credibly across engineering and biology. You will lead the experimental strategy, troubleshoot across disciplines, manage project risks and milestones, and collaborate closely with engineers, molecular scientists and ophthalmology partners. You will lead and contribute to high-quality publications, conference presentations, reports and funding applications, and support intellectual-property and translational planning where appropriate. The post provides scope to establish a distinctive research profile in nanoneedle biointerfaces, longitudinal cell interrogation and translational nanomedicine.

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered a fixed-term contract for one year until 31 December 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 staff up to and including Grade 7. Further information is available from the Centre for Research Staff Development.

About you

We are looking for an experimentally rigorous researcher who can integrate engineering and biological evidence, exercise initiative and develop methods that are quantitatively robust and reproducible. Direct porous-silicon experience is advantageous but is not essential where a candidate brings strong adjacent expertise at the engineering-biology interface.

Essential criteria

1. A PhD awarded, or thesis submitted and awaiting award, in biomedical engineering, bioengineering, nanotechnology, materials science, molecular or cell biology, or a closely related discipline
2. A strong research record appropriate to career stage, evidenced by peer-reviewed outputs and a clear contribution to rigorous experimental research.
3. Practical expertise in mammalian cell culture, molecular biology and quantitative assays, including experience of intracellular delivery, transfection or closely related methods.
4. Experience in biomaterials, micro-or nanotechnology, nanofabrication, microfabrication or medical-device prototyping, with the ability to work effectively at the engineering-biology interface.
5. Hands-on experience of cleanroom micro-or nanofabrication, particularly silicon or porous-silicon processing, surface modification, MEMS or microfluidic device assembly.
6. Demonstrated ability to design, execute, troubleshoot and analyse complex in vitro and/or ex vivo studies using appropriate controls, quantitative endpoints and statistical methods.
7. Experience of microscopy and quantitative image or data analysis, together with high standards of experimental documentation, data management and reproducibility.
8. Excellent scientific communication, project organisation and collaborative working skills, with the ability to exercise initiative and deliver research across disciplines and institutions.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience with corneal endothelial cells, organ or tissue culture, ex vivo models, barrier tissues or ophthalmic research.
2. Experience of intracellular sampling, nucleic-acid or protein delivery, gene editing, spatial or temporal omics, or other methods for longitudinal interrogation of living systems.
3. Experience of translational device development, including SOPs, design controls, verification, scale-up, quality management, intellectual property or collaboration with industry or clinical partners.
4. Competence in quantitative analysis using Python, R, MATLAB or equivalent software, including statistical analysis, image processing or automated data workflows.

Please note that this is a PhD-level role, but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhD will be considered. In these circumstances, appointment will be at Grade 5, spine point 30, with the title Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6.

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