Vacancies

• To conduct research within genetics of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related neurodegenerative conditions in large population and cross-sectional studies
• To contribute to the overall research performance of the School and University by the production of measurable outputs including bidding for funding, publishing in national academic journals and conferences, and the recruitment and supervision of postgraduate research students.
• To develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research including research funding proposals
• To attend and or present at conferences/seminars at a local and national level as required
• To undertake administrative tasks associated with the research project, including the planning and organisation of the project and the implementation of procedures required to ensure accurate and timely reporting
• To prepare research ethics and research governance applications as appropriate
• To review and synthesise existing research literature within the field
• To participate in School research activities.
• To build and create networks both internally and externally to the university, to influence decisions,  explore future research requirements, and share research ideas for the benefit of research projects

• To engage effectively with industrial, commercial and public sector organisations, professional institutions, other academic institutions etc., regionally and nationally to raise awareness of the School’s profile, to cultivate strategically valuable alliances, and to pursue opportunities for collaboration across a range of activities. These activities are expected to contribute to the School and the enhancement of its regional and national profile.
• To undergo personal and professional development that is appropriate to and which will enhance performance.

• To participate in School administration and activities to promote the School and its work to the wider University and the outside world.

  
  About you:
  Qualifications and Education
  1. Postgraduate degree at PhD level (or nearing completion / submission) in a related subject area or relevant industrial experience
  Knowledge, Skills and Experience
  2. An established expertise and proven portfolio of research and/or relevant industrial experience within the following research fields:
  -   Biostatistics/Bioinformatics in complex genetic analyses
  -   Genetics of complex diseases
  -   High Performance Computing
  -   Big data manipulation and analyses
  -   Analysis of rare genetic variants
  3. Knowledge of current status of research in biostatistics, bioinformatics, exome sequencing data processing and analysis, gene expression analysis
  4. Proven ability to publish in national journals.
  5. Knowledge and understanding of competitive research funding to be able to develop applications to funding bodies
  Communication and Team Working
  6. Proven ability in effective and persuasive communication
  7. Ability to supervise the work of others to focus team efforts and motivate individuals
  Other
  8. Proven ability to demonstrate creativity, innovation and team-working within work
  9. Proven ability to work without close supervision

About us

The UCL Dementia Research Centre (DRC), based in the Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and led by Professor Nick Fox, is a hub for clinical research into various forms of dementia. Our work focuses on identifying and understanding the disease processes that cause dementia, the factors that influence these disease processes, and how best to support people with dementia and their families. In addition to our research, we also provide a cognitive disorders clinic within the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.

About the role

We are seeking an outstanding and highly motivated Clinical Research Fellow to join the internationally recognised UCL Dementia Research Centre (DRC). The post will involve cross-cutting work at the UK DRI at UCL and clinical contributions at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), Queen Square, London. The post is strongly translational, bridging population science, biomarkers, imaging, and clinical neurology. This post would particularly suit clinicians planning a career in academic neurology, old age psychiatry, or clinical neuroscience.

You will be involved in assessing research participants as part of a new project with participants recruited from the 1958 British birth cohort. Responsibilities will include clinical assessment of study members, obtaining PET/CT imaging, and blood sampling for genetics and biobanking. Contributing to data cleaning and curation, and to data analysis, you will work closely and collaboratively with the study coordinators, other researchers in the DRC clinical and imaging team, the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, and Institute of Nuclear Medicine, all at UCL. The working environment is collective and multidisciplinary.

There may be the option to register for a part-time PhD for a research project within the department.

An honorary contract will be sought from UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, for which a DBS check will be required.

The post is available from August 2026 and funded by the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL for one year in the first instance.

About you

You will be a registered medical practitioner with a licence to practise in the UK and have completed MRCP (or hold an equivalent qualification from an international institution).

You will have experience in lumbar puncture and in neurology, or a relevant medical speciality, to a minimum of SHO/ST2 or equivalent level and be able to demonstrate a record of academic excellence.

Excellent oral and written communication skills and strong problem-solving abilities are essential, as is the ability to work cooperatively in a team environment with the ability to be self-organised and work efficiently. A very high level of consideration and care for patients and research subjects is also a requirement.

This role meets the eligibility requirements for a skilled worker certificate of sponsorship or a global talent visa under UK Visas and Immigration legislation. Therefore, UCL welcomes applications from international applicants who require a visa.

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.

The successful candidate will have a demonstrable track record and experience bioinformatics and data analysis, particularly -omics approaches in biology and a keen interest in neuroscience and neurodegeneration. Demonstrable experience dealing with iPSC-derived cultures and data in the context of neurobiology or neurodegeneration studies is desirable.

The successful candidate will have at least a PhD in a relevant field and postdoctoral experience in a research lab with projects, preferably focused on neurobiology or neurodegeneration.

The post holder 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 developed in the Serio lab for the study of axons, and will lead on the multiomic analysis to compare different genotypes.

The post holder 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.

Successful candidates will be highly motivated with demonstrable experience in multiomics and bioinformatics, with an interest or basic understanding of stem cell modelling applied to neuroscience and neurodegeneration studies.

The post will be linked to a MNDA project and a UK DRI funded programme and will take place between the Basic & Clinical Neuroscience department 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.

This is a full -time post (35 hours per week) and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30/09/2028

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. PhD in Neurobiology or related subject with clear track record of bioinformatics, data analysis -omics analysis.
2. Postdoctoral experience in a neuroscience or neuroengineering project.
3. Knowledge of basic neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and ALS
4. Strong programming skills in R, python or other coding languages
5. Practical experience with a high-performance computing and Unix/Linux environments
6. Practical experience in a broad range of bioinformatics approaches, including the analyses of some or all the following assays: 

•       RNA-seq (NGS and longreads) 

•       Single cell genomics 

•       ChIP-seq/CUT&Tag/ATAC-seq 

•       Proteomics 

Desirable criteria

1. Ability to work with version control systems, i.e., Git and GitHub
2. Experience in iPSC-derived in vitro models
3. Knowledge of next-generation genomic approaches, specifically those pertaining to RNA and chromatin biology
4. Practical cell culture skills

The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is committed to transforming the lives of people affected by neurodegenerative conditions. In partnership with Parkinson's UK, we are excited to announce the launch of our new Parkinson’s Research Centre (PRC) in 2025.  Led by inaugural Centre Director, Professor Miratul Muqit, FRSE FMedSci, the PRC will adopt a distributed, network structure, with researchers hosted in leading universities across the UK.

We are now seeking to appoint one Group Leader (principal investigator) who will drive innovative research and contribute to our collaborative and inclusive scientific community. 

As a UK DRI Group Leader within the PRC, you will lead an internationally competitive research programme focused on Parkinson’s disease. You will contribute to an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and open science environment. We welcome applications from applicants whose research lies in any aspect of molecular research including cell biology, biochemistry, CRISPR- based screening or structural biology relevant to Parkinson’s, that aims to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of Parkinson’s. We welcome applicants at any stage of research career from those seeking independence for the first time to established tenured researchers.

The UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) is committed to transforming the lives of people affected by neurodegenerative conditions. We are seeking to appoint two Group Leaders (Principal Investigators) who will drive a visionary programme of experimental and translational research in any area of neuroscience relevant to dementia and neurodegeneration while also contributing to our collaborative and inclusive scientific community. As part of a distributed national MRC institute, these posts will be based at the UK DRI at Cardiff University with the ability to collaborate across sites

As a UK DRI Group Leader, you will lead an internationally competitive research programme. All areas of neuroscience will be considered, but we are keen to receive applications with experimental approaches that use mouse genetics and physiology, organoids, human-to-mouse chimeric models or human tissue. We welcome applications focussing on molecular, cellular or systems neuroscience, including glial biology, neural circuits and neuron-glia and gliovascular interactions. You will contribute to an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary, and open science environment. The UK DRI will provide support to enable the rapid translation of the fundamental insights gained into drug development and tangible benefits for people living with neurodegenerative conditions.

Applications are welcome from those seeking independence for the first time, as well as from established tenured researchers from the UK and abroad. The primary criteria for evaluation will be recent research excellence, scientific vision and potential for collaborative research across the UK DRI.