Current Vacancies
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Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- £36,433-£41,833 per annum
About us
Based within the UK DRI at UCL, the Fluid Biomarker Lab was set up in 2021 with a vision to create a biomarker platform for the UK DRI and the wider neurodegenerative disease research community that can undertake the larger studies to inform dementia research, clinical trial set-up, and treatments for all neurodegenerative diseases.
The Fluid Biomarker Lab collaborates with national and international laboratories working on neurodegeneration, and have multiple sensitive platforms for biomarker measurements, including the first Alamar Biosciences ARGO HT platform in the UK, a Signature 100 Olink platform, a MesoScale Discovery platform, and four Quanterix Simoa HD-X platforms.
About the role
We are recruiting a Research Technician to join the Biomarker Factory team to ensure that samples for biomarker projects are handled correctly, measured in an accurate and timely manner, and their results reported for sign off.
The post is available immediately and funded by the UK Dementia Research Institute for twelve months in the first instance.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Dr Amanda Heslegrave (a.heslegrave@ucl.ac.uk).
About you
You will hold a BSc in a Biomedical subject (or equivalent relevant experience), knowledge of immunoassays and the technology used, and general laboratory competence with the ability to use basic lab equipment.
IT proficiency at advanced user level, excellent time management and organisational skills, and good interpersonal skills are also essential. Experience of running ELISA assays and of working with human samples is desirable, as is an interest in neurodegenerative disease research.
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Key details
- Location UK DRI at King's
- Salary: £45,031- £46,189 per annum
- Lab: Dr Andrea Serio & Dr. Sarah Marzi
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.
To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:About you
Essential criteria- PhD awarded in Neurobiology, Bioinformatics or similar field
- Demonstrable practical and theorical expertise in a Neuroscience or Neurodegeneration project
- Experience with Live imaging systems
- Experience with iPSC based in vitro models
- Knowledge of basic neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and ALS
- 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
- Strong programming skills in R, python or other coding languages
- Practical experience with a high-performance computing and Unix/Linux environments
Desirable criteria- Ability to work with version control systems, i.e., Git and GitHub
- Knowledge of next-generation genomic approaches, specifically those pertaining to RNA and chromatin biology
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Key details
- Location UK DRI at Edinburgh
- Salary: This opportunity is open to UK and international students and provides funding covering stipend and UK level tuition fees. The University of Edinburgh covers the difference between home and international fees meaning that the EASTBIO DTP offers fu
- Lab: Dr Blanca Diaz-Castro, Dr Lorena Arancibia
About the Project
Astrocytes are exceptionally branched cells that tile the brain to maintain its homeostasis1-3. Astrocytes are strategically positioned as a bridge between the brain vasculature and parenchyma4, exhibiting specialised subcellular compartments that interact with distinct brain components5. Around the vasculature, they enwrap ~90% of the brain vascular tree through structures called astrocyte endfeet that mediate important roles such as nutrient and hormone uptake and processing, blood-flow regulation, toxic brain by-products clearance, and blood-brain barrier maintenance2,6,7. Despite the importance of endfoot functions for vasculature-brain interactions, our understanding of the molecules mediating its functions is remarkably limited.
We have developed new tools to define the astrocyte endfoot proteome in the mouse cortex with high level of depth and specificity (Hill, Bravo-Ferrer et al. Nat Comms in Press). This research has opened up new opportunities to better understand the functions of astrocyte endfeet. While we know astrocyte endfeet are molecularly specialised in comparison to other parts of the astrocyte. It remains to be understood the mechanisms that drive this specialisation. In this project we will:
1- Determine which endfoot proteins are locally translated
We will identify if specific types of endfoot proteins are translated in the cell body or locally, in the endfoot, using RNA in situ hybridization, RNA sequencing, and proteomics.
2- Establish if the endfoot protein composition differs between brain regions or vessel types.
Astrocytes are molecularly diverse across brain regions8, and vascular cells differ depending on the vessel type9. It is likely that endfeet are diverse as well, but this has not been directly tested so far. We will perform cell and region specific proteomic to determine if this is the case.
3- Investigate how endfoot diversity correlates with their surrounding environment.
We will define the proteome of vascular cells along the vascular tree and assess if the endfoot functions relate to the ones of their neighbouring vascular counterparts. Moreover, we will assess if endfoot diversity and its potential relationship with the neighbouring cells are affected by acute or chronic insults.
This project will leverage our recent discoveries and generate new methods to better understand astrocyte endfoot diversity and the mechanisms by which astrocyte endfeet become a molecularly specialised compartment.
Training:
The PhD student will be co-supervised by experts in spatial proteomics (Lorena Arancibia Cárcamo) and astrocyte biology and subcellular proteomics (Blanca Díaz Castro) to master highly specialised molecular biology techniques and investigate the mechanisms that determine the astrocyte endfoot molecular composition.
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Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- Salary: £45,103 - £48,679 per annum
- Lab: Professor Catherine Hall
About us
Dementia is the greatest health challenge of our century.
To date there is no way to prevent it or even slow its progression, and there is an urgent need to fill the knowledge gap in our basic understanding of these diseases.
The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is the biggest UK initiative supporting research to fill this gap.
Research in the Hall Lab, based in the UK DRI at UCL and the BHF-UK DRI Centre for Vascular Dementia Research, aims to untangle if and how the balance between the brain’s energy supply and demand shapes its activity, and especially how changes in this balance promote the emergence of vascular and Alzheimer’s dementia.
About the role
We are now recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to join the Hall Lab at UCL and work on an exciting projects defining how brain function is affected by a dysfunctional vasculature, and how blood vessels become damaged during dementia. You will interrogate the mechanisms underlying changes in neurovascular function change in the brain during dementia risk, early dementia, and during mild disruptions to the brain’s energy supply. Projects will use physiological, molecular and biochemical approaches to dissect mechanisms producing neurovascular changes observed in models of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
The role is available from 01 February 2026 and funded by the British Heart Foundation/UK DRI for two years in the first instance.
Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Professor Catherine Hall (catherine.hall@ucl.ac.uk)
About you
You’ll have a PhD in neuroscience, life sciences, or a related field, and the ability to develop new ideas and methods, generate research hypotheses, and design experiments to test these. A strong background in statistical analysis and specialist technical expertise in one or more of the experimental methods relevant for the project is essential, as is an understanding of and interest in the research work of the UK DRI, and excellent organisational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
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Key details
- Location UK DRI at UCL
- Salary: The studentship is funded through the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) for 4 years and will cover UK university tuition fees (home fees only). The studentship will also pay an annual stipend based on the standard ARUK set stipend rate.
- Lab: Dr Soyon Hong
About the Project
Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship in the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, to start on 28th September 2026.
Project: This PhD project will investigate how astrocytes and microglia contribute to synaptic loss and aggregate pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
It is becoming increasingly clear that non-neuronal cells critically contribute to region-specific synapse loss and dysfunction in AD. While microglia are emerging as the central cellular mediators of synapse elimination (for e.g., Hong et al., Science 2016, Rueda-Carrasco et al., EMBOJ 2023, De Schepper et al., Nature Neuroscience 2023, Crowley et al., bioRxiv 2024), our recent work suggests that astrocytes may act upstream to confer the region-specific synapse vulnerability (Sokolova et al., bioRxiv 2024). Mechanistically, we find that these astrocytes, which have marked dysfunctional perisynaptic processes, secrete MFG-E8, which then promote microglial synapse engulfment and synapse loss in their local milieu.
The PhD project will build on these findings and aim to uncover astrocyte-microglia crosstalk in AD. The student will dissect molecular mechanisms underlying this cell-cell crosstalk including MFG-E8 using various cutting-edge tools in post-mortem human tissues, human cells and various mouse models including spatial transcriptomics, single-cell transcriptomics, subcellular or secretome proteomics, in vivo manipulation tools, and/or super-resolution microscopy.
Eligibility: Applicants who have or expect to obtain a 1st class honours or an upper 2:1 in their undergraduate degree in neuroscience, neuroimmunology, immunology, molecular biology, biomedical sciences or related disciplines, as well as a significant level of wet-lab research experience in biology or related field. An MSc/MRes is favoured but not a pre-requisite.
Funding Notes
The studentship is funded through the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) for 4 years and will cover UK university tuition fees (home fees only). The studentship will also pay an annual stipend based on the standard ARUK set stipend rate. Overseas students may apply but will receive funding at Home rates. As such they will need to apply for additional funding or show evidence of their ability to pay the fee shortfall for the full duration of the study.