Job offer PHD Studentship, Analytics, Environmental & Forensics

King's College London; Camden Town; On-site; GBP 15,000 - 20,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned university in the UK is offering a PhD research opportunity focused on the development of infection-specific radiotracers. The role involves synthesizing compounds, conducting microbiological assays, and ensuring ethical compliance in preclinical studies. Candidates should have a strong background in relevant sciences and demonstrate research skills. This position offers a chance to contribute to innovative diagnostics in the fight against infectious diseases.

Qualifications

• Strong background in microbiology or related fields.
• Demonstrated research skills through dissertation.
• Lab-based project experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop radiotracers and conduct biological evaluations.
• Perform preclinical studies and data analysis.
• Collaborate with clinicians and translational teams.

Skills

Synthetic chemistry

Analytical techniques (HPLC, LC-MS, NMR)

Radiation safety and handling

Microbiological assays

Ethical compliance

Education

MSc/MRes in microbiology, biomedical science, chemistry or biology

Job description

Job Overview

People with conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, organ transplants, or immunodeficiencies face higher risks of infection, complications, and death. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is vital to improve outcomes in these vulnerable groups. However, clinical diagnosis of microbial infections is often challenging, and noninvasive methods tend to perform poorly. Existing lab techniques typically require invasive sample collection, followed by time-consuming culture and antibiotic resistance testing. These methods delay results and lack real‑time monitoring to assess disease burden or pinpoint the infection site. Imaging tools that specifically target pathogens are highly sought after to improve noninvasive infection diagnosis and localisation. Currently, no clinical imaging test can reliably distinguish infections from inflammation or malignancy or differentiate between bacterial and fungal infections. Emerging research is exploring radiometals conjugated with targeting molecules for in‑vivo imaging of infections via PET or SPECT. These agents can also be linked to therapeutics, enabling combined diagnosis and targeted antimicrobial treatment (theranostics) – offering a promising tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Research Opportunity

At King’s College London, in collaboration with clinicians and scientists from UKSHA, we have set up a unique facility to develop radiotracers (conjugating radiometals with different targeted molecules) and to evaluate them biologically in vitro and in vivo. We work closely with clinicians, the King’s translational team, and the IP & licensing team. Our team has expertise in working with industry to develop radiopharmaceutical kits. We are offering an exciting and ambitious PhD research opportunity to explore different molecules/targets to develop infection‑specific radiotracers and navigate their clinical translation.

PhD Training

• Synthetic chemistry and analytical techniques (HPLC, LC‑MS, NMR)
• Designing and synthesising compounds for bacterial or fungal new targets or developing theragnostic agents
• Radiation safety, regulation and handling radioisotopes
• Radiochemistry (radiolabelling of compounds, purity, stability and in‑vitro characterisation of radiolabelled compounds using radio‑iTLC and radio‑HPLC)
• Microbiological assays (microbial cell growth and maintenance, in‑vitro evaluation of radiolabelled compounds in different microbial pathogens) & tissue culture‑based ex‑vivo evaluation
• Ethical and regulatory compliance for animal study (Home Office licensing in the UK)
• Preclinical animal studies (in vivo studies in healthy and infection model), Imaging data acquisition and analysis (Positron Emission Tomography)

Complementary training includes research ethics, scientific communication, project management, and collaboration across clinical and scientific disciplines – equipping you to contribute to innovative diagnostics and targeted therapies in the fight against infectious diseases and AMR.

References

• Akter A, Lyons O, Mehra V, Isenman H, Abbate V. Radiometal chelators for infection diagnostics. Front Nucl Med. 2023 Jan 9;2:1058388. doi:10.3389/fnume.2022.1058388.
• Akter A, Firth G, Darwesh AMF, et al. [68Ga]Ga-Schizokinen, a Potential Radiotracer for Selective Bacterial Infection Imaging. ACS Infect Dis. 2024 Aug 9;10(8):2615-2622. doi:10.1021/acsinfecdis.4c00067.
• Akter A, Cooper MS, Darwesh AMF, Hider RC, Blower PJ, Price NM, Lyons O, Schelenz S, Mehra V, Abbate V. Radiotracers for in situ infection imaging: Experimental considerations for in vitro microbial uptake of gallium-68-labeled siderophores. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2024 Dec;110(4):116522. doi:10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116522.
• Young JD, Abbate V, Imberti C, Meszaros LK, Ma MT, Terry SYA, Hider RC, Mullen GE, Blower PJ. 68Ga-THP-PSMA: A PET Imaging Agent for Prostate Cancer Offering Rapid, Room‑Temperature, 1‑Step Kit‑Based Radiolabeling. J Nucl Med. 2017 Aug;58(8):1270-1277. doi:10.2967/jnumed.117.191882.
• Failla M, Floresta G, Abbate V. Peptide‑based positron emission tomography probes: Current strategies for synthesis and radiolabelling. RSC Med Chem. 2023 Jan 6;14(4):592-623. doi:10.1039/d2md00397j.
• Floresta G, Keeling GP, Memdouh S, Meszaros LK, de Rosales RTM, Abbate V. NHS‑Functionalized THP Derivative for Efficient Synthesis of Kit‑Based Precursors for 68Ga Labeled PET Probes. Biomedicines. 2021 Apr 1;9(4):367. doi:10.3390/biomedicines9040367.

Candidate Profile

We prioritise candidates with a strong MSc/MRes background who have demonstrated research skills through their dissertation in microbiology, biomedical science, chemistry, biology or relevant subjects. However, a 1st or 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in the above‑stated subjects with lab‑based project experience is also welcomed. For more information on the entry requirements and fees, please visit our website.