Research Assistant in Rare Disease - Strand, London, WC2R 2LSAbout usProfessor Bateman’s lab is in the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, housed in the Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, a state-of-the-art research facility on the Denmark Hill campus at King’s College London, housing 150 clinicians and scientists from disciplines including neuroimaging, neurology, psychiatry, genetics, molecular, cellular biology and drug discovery. The Bateman lab shares space with 3 other groups (Vagnoni, Hirth and Fanto groups) all studying nervous system function and degeneration using Drosophila, mouse and cell models, making this an exciting and dynamic research environment. About the roleThe research assistant will contribute to and support several ongoing projects in the Bateman group. Research focuses on the role of signalling pathways in nervous system development and function. We are specifically interested in mitochondrial stress signalling and mTOR signalling pathways. You will perform experiments using Drosophila models of mitochondrial dysfunction to characterise underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. You will also play a role in collaborative projects to analyse human iPSC-derived neurons and cortical organoids, as well as isolate of plasma/cells from human blood as part of the mTOR Pathway diseases node ( https://rd-research.org.uk/node/mtor-pathway-diseases/). The project is funded by the Medical Research Council and Innovate UK. More details on the Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, are here: www.kcl.ac.uk/neuroscience/about/departments/basic-clinical-neuroscience This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract until 31/10/26. 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. About youTo be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience: Essential criteriaDegree or equivalent in a relevant scientific fieldResearch experience using Drosophila Molecular biology research experience Microscopy experienceEfficient worker with good time management and organisational skills Desirable criteriaKnowledge of / education in neuroscience Knowledge of mitochondrial biology Experience using iPSC/organoid models Lab managerial experience Downloading a copy of our Job DescriptionFull 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 page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.