Post-doctoral Scientist

Job overview

UCLH Charities are funding the start-up of a pioneering ageing research centre within the Department of Ageing, Rheumatology and Regenerative Medicine, Division of Medicine, UCL. Dr Priya Subramanian, Consultant Dermatologist and Principal Investigator, leads the arm of human basic science research bridging dermatology, cancer biology and ageing, with a focus on how loss of p16, a key regulator of senescence, drives both tumour initiation and immune dysfunction

Main duties of the job

The postholder will work alongside Dr Subramanian to deliver research aims and objectives detailed in a recently awarded British Skin Foundation (BSF) grant. This project aims to both understand disease-specific impacts of mutated p16, and mechanistically understand the impact of p16 on human senescence, with relevance to the fields of cancer biology, senescence and ageing research. We will characterise immune and senescence-associated changes in CDKN2A-mutated human melanocytes and T cells using a unique, well-phenotyped biobank of skin and blood samples. We will apply multiplexed histology, high-parameter flow cytometry and in vitro co-culture models to: 1) define senescence and immune escape phenotypes of CDKN2A-mutated melanocytes under physiological and induced stress conditions; 2) identify alterations in circulating T cells that compromise melanoma immunosurveillance; and 3) test the cytotoxic capacity of autologous T cells against CDKN2A-mutated human melanocytes in vitro.

The post is for 18 months

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

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