Post Doctoral Research Associate

About Us

The Atherton lab (King's College London) is seeking an enthusiastic post-doctoral researcher to decipher how a set of actin-binding proteins remodels the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, including during cancer and viral pathogenic processes. The Atherton group is based in Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics , home to a diverse array of structural and cellular biology research, which is part of the School of Basic & Biomedical Sciences . We sit in the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine , which has a broad spectrum of research interests spanning fundamental biology, disease, and physiology. We are based at the Guy's Campus of King's College London situated in the heart of London. King's is a founding member of the prestigious Russell Group of world-class, research-intensive universities.

About the role

Filamentous actin (F-actin) dynamically adopts various higher-order architectures to perform defined sub-cellular functions. A host of actin-binding proteins (ABPs) modulate the growth and stability of individual filaments or organise multiple filaments into various bundled and branched networks. This role will focus on a family of actin-binding proteins that regulates the actin cytoskeleton and links it to other intracellular components in the molecular processes underlying neuronal development and synaptic plasticity, cell-cell interactions, viral infection and cancer invasion.

The core techniques used will be single-particle cryo-EM and in situ cryo-electron tomography, with support from classical cell biology, molecular biophysics, biochemistry and molecular biology methodologies.

The cryo-EM research group at KCL is fast-growing and the university are investing heavily in the technique. We have access to excellent cryo-EM facilities, including an on-site autoloading JEOL cryoARM200 + K3 direct electron detector and a state-of-the-art Titan Krios electron microscope and FIBSEM equipment at nearby London sites.

The successful applicant should have a demonstrable passion for revealing fundamental molecular mechanisms and hold significant experience in protein expression/purification, structural biology and cell culture. Experience in cryo-EM is essential and experience in in situ cryo-ET, fluorescence microscopy and an understanding of cytoskeletal biology and/or neurobiology would be advantageous.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract starting no sooner than 2nd February 2026 and ending 1st February 2030.

It is a laboratory-based role and as such it needs to be performed on site for roughly 80% of the time, but there will be opportunities to work remotely for roughly 20% of the time, for example when processing data or preparing manuscripts and presentations.

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 *
2. Experience in cryo-electron microscopy/structural biology sample preparation and data collection
3. Proficiency in Linux command line usage and cryo-EM processing software
4. Experience in prokaryotic ) cell culture
5. Experience in eukaryotic (e.g HEK293T cells and/or insect cell systems) cell culture
6. Experience in basic molecular biology and biochemistry techniques
7. Experience in protein expression and purification methods
8. Good understanding of structural and molecular biology and biochemistry

* 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.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience in cellular cryo-electron tomography sample preparation, data collection and image processing
2. Experience in focussed ion-beam milling (FIBSEM) for for cryo-ET
3. Experience in light/fluorescence microscopy and/or correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM)
4. Understanding of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton and its regulation.
5. General proficiency in computing, including an understanding of high-performance computing clusters

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 next page after you click "Apply Now". This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

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.

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 within a month of the closing date.

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