Research Associate - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

Research Associate - Strand, London, WC2R 2LS

About Us

King’s College London and its partner NHS Trusts - King’s College Hospital and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital together have one of the largest chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell programmes in the UK with licensed and experimental CAR-T products being administered for patients with B-cell leukaemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, solid tumours and autoimmune disease. It has MHRA accredited GMP facilities for manufacturing of CAR-T cells and other Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs), with 2 academic CAR-T trials due to commence in 2026 for B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

The Cellular Immunotherapy lab at KCL led by Dr Reuben Benjamin is focused on developing novel CAR-T cells for B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disease, investigating mechanisms of resistance to CAR-T cells and leading academic CAR-T cell clinical trials with in-house manufactured CAR-T cells.

Dr Chris Wincup’s Translational Rheumatology lab integrates translational immunology and immunometabolism to understand and treat systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly SLE and lupus nephritis. The lab investigates patient cohorts with deep immune phenotyping utilising multi-omics (single-cell sequencing, flow cytometry/CyTOF, metabolomics), cellular bioenergetics, and tissue immunology to discover biomarkers and develop precision, mechanism-guided treatments.

About The Role

We are looking to appoint a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a dynamic team at King’s College London involved in clinical and translational research of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune condition. The postholder will be responsible for evaluating the efficacy of a next generation CD19 targeted CAR-T cell product (pCAR19) against autoreactive B cells in SLE, optimising a GMP rapid manufacturing process for pCAR19 cells from SLE patients and investigating the impact of immunosuppressive and glucocorticoid treatment on the production of pCAR19 cells (ACCELERATE study). Results from this work will form the basis for a planned future phase 1 study of pCAR19 in relapsed refractory SLE patients.

This is a full time (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 30/06/2027.

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 up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.