The Joan Reece Chair in Immuno-Oncology at King's College London London, England
King's College London
Full Time
London, England
100000 - 200000 GBP ANNUAL Today
Job description
Job description
We would like to appoint THE JOAN REECE CHAIR IN IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY within Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC), School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Cancer immunology is transforming cancer care, by harnessing the power of the immune system to prevent, control and eliminate cancer with many advantages. The postholder will be expected to be an Experienced/senior leader in the field who will have a keen interest and experience of working to develop potential future therapies and precision approaches in ImmunoOncology. The emphasis is on improving the existing human immunology programme by studying the heterogeneity of individual patients’ immune response to therapeutics using models such as Patient derived organoids (PDO), ex vivo tumor fragment and/or xenografts as these are increasingly seen as vital tools for preclinical drug discovery as well as provide potential stratification approaches in clinical studies.
The following are the groups within CCC/Faculty/London-wide network which will provide excellent collaborative opportunities for this Chair:
1. King’s is part of the Cancer Research UK City of London Cancer Centre (CoLCC, a funded partnership between KCL, UCL, QMUL and CRICK), which has one of its biggest focuses on cell therapy, including CAR-T cells
2. The KCL Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) is a leader in early-stage clinical trials and routinely administer Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) to patients in trials.
3. Across the faculty, research from King’s has led to the formation of multiple spin-out companies in the Advanced therapy space, driving new treatments towards the clinic. These include Gammadelta Therapeutics, Epsilogen Ltd, an immuno-oncology company conducting clinical trials to develop novel antibody drugs (immunoglobulin E) to treat cancer. Leucid Bio Ltd. Is developing and using CAR-T cells against solid tumours.
4. We are home to the GSK KCL oncology hub https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/kings-college-london-and-gsk-new-cancer-research-collaboration – a globally unique hub that is transforming the patient pathway and driving precision/personalised medicine.
5. King’s has received Wellcome Leap (triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)) funding (Maddy Parsons (PI) and Sheeba Irshad (co-PI and Clinical Lead) and Tony Ng (co-PI) to test and harness a brand-new platform – a ‘tissue time machine’ – that combines tissue profiling technologies probing multiple modalities. It will be able to profile changes in cancerous tissues and will be applied first in triple negative breast cancer for precision immunotherapy. See https://wellcomeleap.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Program-Announcement-Delta-Tissue-April-2021.pdf
6. Importantly we have exceptional integrated clinical-academic environment: e.g. Guy’s Cancer Centre/Hospital includes research facilities that underpin our tissue biobanking activities (including PDOs) from 7,500 new surgical cancer patients per annum (with >30% of eligible patients on trials).
We encourage applicants who have an internationally recognised clinical/translational research profile. The research interests of this post can range broadly, from developing advanced therapies through to patient stratification by characterising multiple components of the tumour immune microenvironment (TME).
A collaborative approach in understanding immunotherapeutics at multiple levels through use of the cancer centre’s cutting edge OMICS and imaging technologies, etc. would be advantageous for accelerating research and showcasing KCL and the cancer centre as an attractive partner of choice for industry.
The role will involve some educational responsibilities e.g. King’s College London undergraduate medical education/KHP postgraduate Haematology Training And Education programme.
This post will be offered on an indefinite contract
This is a full-time post - 100% full time equivalent
Key responsibilities
- Deliver research excellence, as a principal research investigator, helping to shape the future of Precision Immunotherapy the Comprehensive Cancer Centre and embed a supportive, collegiate culture.
- Define and lead research in ImmunoOncology and advanced therapies or allied discipline, securing funding to develop a highly respected, international, research programme. This will include productive collaborative links in academia and/or industry.
- Undertake an academic leadership role within CCC’s research network in ImmunoOncology e.g. CoLCC & CRUK-funded RadNet City of London (CoL) Radiation Research Unit (RRU) network; with a focus on the delivery of research and innovation.
- Spearhead delivery of high quality education and take responsibility for developing the talent of students and research staff to ensure their effective career progression.
- Guided by the department safety committee and practices, be responsible for the health and safety of yourself and others.
- Undertake a proportionate level of administration associated with research and teaching in higher education.
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.
Skills, knowledge, and experience
Essential criteria
1. PhD in Immunology or related subject
2. Held independent Senior Investigator or equivalent academic leadership positions previously
3. An externally-recognised, and established international reputation for research evidenced, for example, with an established track record and research programme which includes presenting research at seminars and/or impactful publications in scientific journals
4. Evidence of developing new knowledge, innovative research and broadening the boundaries of advanced immunotherapies in oncology
5. Past successful interactions with clinical disciplines to deliver research in an integrated clinical-academic environment between University/Research Institute and Hospital
6. Ability to lead and function within a team and to plan and prioritise workload
7. Success in obtaining significant research grant funding.
8. Invited contributions to international research conferences.
9. Supervision of undergraduate projects and/or postgraduate research students.
Desirable criteria
1. Evidence of productive interaction with Biopharma industry.
