About Us

The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies (RW-ILS) is at the forefront of delivering world-leading discovery science and translating it into impactful solutions for patients with liver disease. By working closely with local public and patient groups throughout the research journey, we ensure our innovations are relevant, transformative, and centred around patient needs.

As a pioneering collaboration between the Foundation for Liver Research, King’s College London, and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, we bridge the gap between cutting-edge science and real-world patient outcomes. Our approach integrates clinical expertise with advanced research to tackle liver disease from every angle.

We are driving excellence across five research themes:

• Transplantation, Advanced Therapies & Regenerative Medicine
• Steatotic Liver Diseases
• Cirrhosis & Gut-Liver Axis
• Hepatobiliary Cancer
• Paediatric Hepatology & Rare Diseases

About the role

The Senior Lecturer/Reader/Professor in Hepatology will play a pivotal role in advancing the Faculty’s academic strategy by leading high-impact research into liver disease and contributing to the education of the next generation of scientists and healthcare professionals. This position will drive innovation through academic expertise in liver studies and translational research. The appointee will foster interdisciplinary collaborations, deliver research-led education, and mentor early-career researchers, ensuring King’s College London remains at the forefront of addressing contemporary healthcare challenges .The role will involve conducting and leading high-impact research aligned to the research themes of the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies (RW-ILS), while developing and maintaining an externally funded research programme.

Core outputs will include: publishing high-quality research outputs in peer-reviewed journals, enhancing the Faculty’s research profile and supporting its Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission; fostering interdisciplinary collaborations within the Faculty and with external research groups, including national and international partners; providing research-led teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including the MBBS, MSc, and PGCert courses, ensuring alignment with the Faculty’s education strategy; supervising and mentoring PhD students and early-career researchers, promoting a culture of innovation, excellence, and academic development; contributing to the design and delivery of teaching modules; actively engaging in academic administration and committee work as required, contributing to the Faculty’s strategic and operational goals.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About You

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Senior Lecturer

Essential criteria

• PhD (or equivalent) qualified in relevant subject area
• Demonstrable expertise in hepatology or a related field, with a history of high-quality, peer-reviewed publications
• Strong record of obtaining prestigious, substantial research funding/grants
• Evidence of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Experience teaching small and large groups.  Evidence of engagement with teaching delivery
• Proven ability to lead research projects, mentor early-career researchers, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration within academic and clinical settings
• Experience with data analysis techniques

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of working with international research groups or consortia, contributing to global perspectives on liver diseases and advancing multi-centre studies
• Experience in integrating public and patient involvement (PPI) into research or clinical practice, enhancing the relevance and impact of research outcomes
• A developing national reputation in your discipline and be recognised as having made an individually significant contribution to your field and/or innovative contributions to the field

Reader

Essential criteria

• PhD (or equivalent) qualified in relevant subject area
• Demonstrable expertise in hepatology or a related field, with a history of high-quality, peer-reviewed publications
• Strong record of obtaining prestigious, substantial research funding/grants
• Evidence of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Experience teaching small and large groups.  Evidence of engagement with teaching delivery
• Proven ability to lead research projects, mentor early-career researchers, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration within academic and clinical settings
• Experience with data analysis techniques
• Established a national and emerging international reputation in your discipline and been recognised as having made significant and innovative contributions to your field. These contributions should have been sustained over a period of time

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of working with international research groups or consortia, contributing to global perspectives on liver diseases and advancing multi-centre studies
• Experience in integrating public and patient involvement (PPI) into research or clinical practice, enhancing the relevance and impact of research outcomes

Professor

Essential criteria

• PhD (or equivalent) qualified in relevant subject area
• Demonstrable expertise in hepatology or a related field, with a history of high-quality, peer-reviewed publications.
• Strong record of obtaining prestigious, substantial research funding/grants
• Evidence of teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Experience teaching small and large groups.  Evidence of engagement with teaching delivery
• Proven ability to lead research projects, mentor early-career researchers, and foster interdisciplinary collaboration within academic and clinical settings
• Experience with data analysis techniques
• Established a strong international reputation in your discipline and been recognised as having made significant and innovative contributions to your field. These contributions should have been sustained over a period of time
• Evidence of working with international research groups or consortia, contributing to global perspectives on liver diseases and advancing multi-centre studies

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrated the ability to implement and successfully deliver initiatives and formulate strategic plans that reflect and support the priority needs of the Faculty and University. The panel will also consider any innovation, and knowledge exchange activity undertaken and its impact outside of academia.
• Experience in integrating public and patient involvement (PPI) into research or clinical practice, enhancing the relevance and impact of research outcomes

Visit King's College London to apply or download the full job description. 

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

As part of this commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and through this appointment process, it is our aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the detrimental effects of MASLD on the brain

• Job Title: Postdoctoral Scientist

• Group: Liver-Brain Axis

• Reporting to: Dr Anna Hadjihambi (PI)

• Duration: up to 3 years (project ends December 2028)

• Starting salary: £45,031 - £49,871, depending on experience

• Annual leave: 30 days per annum plus bank holidays

• Pension: Minimum employer contribution 8% (increased with higher rate of personal contribution)

• Hours: Full time, 36.5 hours per week

• Start date: December 2025 (flexible)

• Closing date: 20^th October 2025

The Liver-Brain Axis Group, led by Dr Anna Hadjihambi, a neuroscientist, at The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, is seeking a highly motivated and experienced post-doctoral scientist with a strong background in Neuroscience/Neurobiology. Our team brings together neuroscientists and physiologists committed to interdisciplinary research that leverages expertise in the nervous system to better understand and develop novel treatments for brain dysfunction associated with liver disease. This position provides a unique opportunity to contribute to a cutting-edge translational project funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship.

The aim of this research is to advance our understanding of the abnormal physiological processes associated with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), focusing on the brain and cerebrovascular system. This project will investigate the hypothesis that reduced metabolic supply is responsible for the cognitive impairment and decreased quality of life reported in patients with MASLD and develops as a result of disease-induced autonomic dysfunction.

We aim to study whether MASLD associated changes in the brain’s blood vessels can be reversed by resolving liver disease, or if the cerebrovascular damage is irreversible, thus making the brain more fragile during ageing. This role provides a unique opportunity to engage in basic and translational science and combine state-of-the-art experimental animal in vivo methods and molecular biology techniques, to address clinically compelling questions.

The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies is a unique clinical academic partnership between the Foundation for Liver Research, King’s College London and King’s College Hospital that encompasses a multi-disciplinary team focussed on liver research and the improvement of outcomes for patients with liver diseases. This role would be employed by the Foundation for Liver Research, registered charity no. 1134579.

Role and remit

The successful candidate will be working closely with the faculty and with interdisciplinary national and international collaborators at the crossroads of physiology, hepatology, neuroscience and biomedical engineering. We are looking for an experienced researcher to contribute to this project by investigating the brain circuits or signalling pathways along the liver-brain axis, which lead to the reported MASLD associated brain alterations. Areas of interest for this position include, but are not limited to, stereotaxic microinjections of viral vectors, circuit tracing, chemogenetic manipulations, brain imaging combined with head-fixed behavioural protocols, as well as associated data analysis and interpretation. 

Key responsibilities 

• Plan and execute experiments both independently and in collaboration with other team members, the PI and collaborators

• Data collection and interpretation to generate new ideas to drive the project forward

• Liaise with collaborators on relevant work packages

• Write and submit conference abstracts and manuscripts to communicate and present the research findings.

• Contribute to mentorship and supervision of junior research team members (including students)

• Organise and lead public engagement events alongside team and institute members

• Prepare and submit relevant records and study forms regarding animal research to the Biological Support Unit (BSU)

Experience, skills and knowledge

Essential

• Strong background in Neuroscience/Neurobiology (or relevant disciplines)

• Experience with in vivo experiments in mice with priority in:

• Microinjections

• Circuit tracing

• Chemogenetic manipulations

• Head-fixed awake experiments

• Use of pharmacology

• Experience with managing multiple experiments of moderate scale

• Experience with data analysis, statistics and presentation

• Evidence of working in a team (e.g. collaborative projects)

Highly desirable

• Personal animal license

• Experience with:

• Managing/maintaining chronic disease animal models

• Immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence staining

• Functional and molecular imaging and associated analysis

• Manuscript preparation and funding applications

Advantages of working with us

• Annual pay reviews with progression through our pay scale, matched to King’s College London

• 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays

• Generous pension scheme with a minimum employer contribution of 8% which increases based on a higher rate of personal contribution

• Flexible, family-friendly working conditions

Our core values:

• We prioritise the wellbeing of our scientists through sustainable working practices and balance.

• Commitment to career development: We offer various training and development opportunities, as well as support for future fellowship applications.

• Welcoming Environment: We celebrate individuality and maintain a friendly atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. We recognise the benefits of engaging with each other’s research, development, and wellbeing.

• Mentorship: We value mentorship and camaraderie, promoting a supportive atmosphere where all group members aid each other in achieving our goals.

• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Everyone in the team is treated equally. Discrimination of any kind is intolerable. We encourage open discussions about the challenges faced by underrepresented groups and ways to address them.

• Open Communication: We value direct and honest communication, encouraging sharing both successes and challenges.

• Intellectual Rigor and Integrity: We are committed to conducting rigorous, ethical, and transparent research at the forefront of our field, making our results and data accessible for future benefits.

• Lab Safety Commitment

We look forward to receiving your:

• narrative CV

• 1-page covering letter explaining your background and suitability with focus on essential and highly desirable skills

• names and contact details of two referees

by email to Jenny Dines (j.dines@researchinliver.org.uk), Operations Manager, Foundation for Liver Research. We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process.

Please name documents you send as follows:

{CV} or {covering letter}>            Quote Job Ref: RS72

Questions regarding the position should be directed to Dr Anna Hadjihambi by email a.hadjichambi@researchinliver.org.uk.  

Download the full job description