FACULTY OF MEDICINE, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
Non-Clinical Lecturer in Human Development and Microbial Signalling
1. THE POST
Title of Post: Non-Clinical Lecturer in Human Development and
Microbial Signalling (SM029-13)
Surgery and Cancer Department:
Division:
Sections:
Main site of activity:
Responsible to:
Surgery
Sections of Surgery and Biomolecular Medicine (BMM)
St Mary’s Campus (Paddington) and South Kensington
Campus with close interaction across the Faculty of
Medicine and the College
Professor Elaine Holmes, Professor Ara Darzi
2. DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY AND CANCER
The Department of Surgery and Cancer (Head - Professor Jeremy Nicholson) comprises Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, Biomolecular Medicine, Anaesthetics, Pain Medicine and Intensive Care,
Cancer and the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology. Its focus is on both basic science and translational research, which will be of clear benefit to patients. The Department hosts the MRC/NIHR Phenome Centre and has recently established the Joint Centre for Systems
Oncology and Cancer Innovation with the ICR.
For more information about the Department and its work, please visit the website http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/surgeryandcancer/.
2.1 Staffing
Academic Staff – Section of Biomolecular Medicine
Professor Elaine Holmes Head of Section
Professor Jeremy Nicholson [Head of Department of Surgery and Cancer]
Professor Naomi Chayen
Professor Nigel Gooderham
Dr Zoltan Takats
Dr Jake Bundy
Dr Tim Ebbels
Reader in Medical Mass Spectrometry
Senior Lecturer
Senior Lecturer
Senior Lecturer Dr Hector Keun
Dr Muireann Coen
Dr Marc Dumas
Dr Jasmina Saric
Dr Elizabeth Want
Dr Jia Li
Dr Kirril Veselkov
Lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer
Imperial College Junior Research Fellow
Imperial College Junior Research Fellow
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3. THE POST - KEY RESULT AREAS, MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Purpose of Role
The post will be held jointly between the Sections of Surgery and Biomolecular Medicine (BMM), and will support the core of the Department of Surgery and Cancer and integrate departmental research activities. The post in Human Development and Microbial Signalling will contribute to the core research group in the Centre for Gut Health, which will bring together research strands from surgery, women and children’s health, biomolecular medicine and hepatology and will forge a unique research niche addressing the question of the role of the microbiome in human development and will be the main focus of the proposed appointment.
This post will be crucial in supporting and delivering highly sustainable research within the
Department of Surgery and Cancer and will strengthen inter-departmental collaboration and strategically manage departmental research activities in relevance to gut health and impact of gut microbiota on human health and disease. It is intended that the post will serve to develop the
Centre for Gut Health. Although functional metagenomics and microRNA extraction profiling are already established in the Section of Biomolecular Medicine, a key post will be essential to facilitate further growth of these exciting research areas and ensure the delivery of high-quality project management and world-leading research profiles. These core skills will contribute to and fill gaps in the already world class profile of systems biology approaches adopted within Surgery and BMM.
Main Duties
3.1 Research
This post will create new paradigms for mother and baby profiling and personalised healthcare based on the contribution of the microbiome and epigenetic factors to human development.
This post will align with the cross-cutting theme of stratified medicine, in addition to contributing to several of the horizontal themes such as surgery, cancer, hepatology and neonatal medicine.
The aims of the Theme will be implemented as described below and this appointment will, in particular, focus on mechanistic investigation of host-gut microbial interactions in health and disease and address the gut microbiota-gut-liver-brain axis to further understand the impact of gut microbiota on human with an emphasis on translational medicine.
The post will align with the clinical phenotyping core at St Mary’s Hospital comprising the Surgical
Metabonomics Laboratory (Nicholson, Darzi) for real-time biofluid and biopsy analysis
(http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091214/ full/news.2009.1128.html) and the new NIHR-Bruker
Centre for Clinical Phenotyping (CCP) with >25,000 biofluid samples/year capacity. The CCP is supported by the Computational Medicine Unit (CMU) within the Section of Biomolecular Medicine
(BMM; Holmes, Lindon) focusing on the construction of predictive mathematical models of patient stratification, risk assessment, safety and therapeutic efficacy for point-of-care application using combined clinical, metabotype, and/or genomics data streams. BMM houses a world-renowned spectroscopic centre (ca. £15M capital equipment) supporting the CMU which together with the
Imperial Institutes of Systems and Synthetic Biology (ISSB), Chemical Biology (ICB, Klug) and
Bioinformatics (Sternberg) will be responsible for enhanced clinical data analysis and visualisation tools. Existing prenatal and neonatal projects between BMM and the IRDB and also the Chelsea and Westminster neonatal unit (Modi) have laid the groundwork for understanding the relationship between the maternal / infant microbiomes and early metabolism and we are beginning to mine the signatures of adverse health outcomes in early adulthood. Additionally, collaboration between the
Gordon Laboratory (Washington University), Reading University and Gary Frost’s nutrition group
(IC) have begun to address the impact of maternal and infant nutrition on subsequent child development. This post will bridge the gap between metabolic profiling and microbial sequencing
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will drive new theories in infant development and health. The multi-omic nature of this research will necessitate development of novel computational analysis and visualisation approaches, which would form a natural alliance with the newly formed Centre for Computational Medicine.
The appointee will be expected to conduct a research programme in the following areas:

To improve diagnostics of human health and disease based on profiling of maternal and neonatal samples. It will incorporate extragenomic factors such as microbial and miRNA signalling.

To interface with the clinical and national phenome centres to identify microbial products and host-interactions that contribute to disease processes.

To characterise the healthy development of human microbiota and to derive prognostic signatures in early life that are predictive of later life diseases.

To characterise and utilise the effects of surgical interventions in neonates with a view to modifying most-microbial balance to achieve direct health benefits.

To establish biological correlates and mechanisms influencing the development and functioning of the liver-gut-brain axis and to establish mechanisms of manipulating this axis.

To identify and deliver prognostic outcomes for conditions affecting maternal and foetal health such as cholestasis, obesity and in-utero growth restriction based on the interface between the gut and vaginal microbial communities and endogenous metabolism.

To support the development of collaborations across the Department of Surgery and Cancer at
Imperial and with other appropriate departments at Imperial.

To submit, in line with Faculty/College practise research publications with a target of one publication per annum published in best international peer reviewed journals.

To submit grant applications and be awarded sufficient grants to be at a minimum cost-neutral to the institution once the research group is established.

To contribute to the research profile and development of the Department through other activities.

To maintain up-to-date knowledge in the field and to engage in the development of new techniques.

To engage in the planning of research.

To engage in research projects, supervising and taking responsibility as appropriate for members of the research team.

To present findings at national and international conferences.

To develop contacts and research collaborations within the College and the wider community.

To promote the reputation of the Section, the Department and the College.
3.2 Teaching and Training

To contribute to the undergraduate curriculum within the Faculty as requested.

To undertake postgraduate teaching on appropriate courses such as the MRes Biomedical
Research and the MSc in Reproductive and Developmental Biology.

To participate in new developments in innovative learning methods, including e-learning.

To undertake PhD project supervision and teaching as appropriate.

To assist in the administrative duties involved in teaching, including examining, student feedback and the development of learning and teaching in general.

To contribute to the assurance and enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning within the Section, in line with College and UK standards.
3.3 Staff Management

To engage in appropriate administrative/management responsibilities in support of the
Department’s teaching and research activities.

To attend relevant academic or management committees.
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
To be responsible for managing and developing those staff for whom the appointee is responsible.

Other analogous duties commensurate with the grade of the post
4. ACCOUNTABILITY
Overall accountability will be to the Head of Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College.
5. OFFICE/ADMINISTRATIVE FACILITIES
The post holder will have office facilities at the St Mary’s and at South Kensington campuses with access to administrative support at the South Kensington campus.
6. OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

key policies and procedures on Confidentiality, Conflict of Interest, Data Protection, Equal
Opportunities, Financial Regulations, Health and Safety, Imperial Expectations (for new leaders, managers and supervisors), Information Technology, Private Engagements and
Register of Interests, and Smoking.

To undertake specific safety responsibilities relevant to individual roles, as set out on the
College Website Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities page
(http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/safety/policies/organisationandarrangements).
Job descriptions cannot be exhaustive and so the post holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.
Imperial College is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination.
All employees are expected to adhere to the principles set out in our Equal Opportunities in
Employment Policy, Promoting Race Equality Policy and Disability Policy and all other relevant guidance/practice frameworks.
7. PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
Essential

PhD or equivalent in Chemistry or Biochemistry

An honours degree (minimum 2:1 in Chemistry)
Research Knowledge and Experience
Essential

Knowledge of spectroscopic profiling of biological samples, preferably including both NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry

Knowledge of advanced spectroscopic data processing and multivariate analysis of spectral datasets
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
Knowledge of microbial profiling techniques, including high throughput sequencing, DGGE,
FISH etc

Experience of processing microbial datasets

Evidence of a developing track record of publishing in national and international peer-reviewed journals

Evidence of a developing track record of engagement with research projects and attracting research funding
Teaching and Training Experience
Essential

Teaching experience via lectures, classes and project supervision

Experience of teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students

Experience of supervision of higher degrees (PhD, MD(Res)

Evidence of contribution to the development and performance of colleagues or students through coaching and mentoring

Evidence of interaction with clinicians and recognition of patient needs
Skills and Abilities
Essential

Statistical analysis techniques suitable for analysis of complex data sets comprising genomic or metabonomic data

Ability to communicate complex bioinformatics approaches to non-specialists as well as general ability to communicate well, conveying ideas and concepts clearly and effectively in speech and in writing

Excellent teaching skills

Evidence of ability to plan own research projects of national standing

Evidence of ability to propose innovative, interdisciplinary research proposals

Evidence of developing ability to attract funds to support research proposals

Ability to present their subject in a motivating manner

Good time management skills

Evidence of developing management skills necessary for undertaking project and staff responsibilities

Ability motivate others to produce a high standard of work

Evidence of ability to work in dynamic research team and to contribute to administrative and organizational tasks

Proven skills in leading, motivating, developing and managing the performance of colleagues, ensuring the effective performance and development of a leading research department

Ability to work under pressure
Personal Attributes
Essential

High level of analytical and innovative scientific capability

Willingness to work as part of a team and to be open-minded and cooperative

Flexible attitude towards work


Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times
Willingness to undertake any necessary training for the role

Willingness to travel both within the United Kingdom and abroad to conduct research and attend conferences

Supportive and tolerant
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Imperial Expectations
These are the 7 principles that Imperial leaders, managers and supervisors are expected to follow:
1) Champion a positive approach to change and opportunity
2) Communicate regularly and effectively within, and across, teams
3) Consider the thoughts and expectations of others
4) Deliver positive outcomes
5) Encourage inclusive participation and eliminate discrimination
6) Support and develop staff to optimise talent
7) Work in a planned and managed way
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APPLICATION
Our preferred method of application is online via our website http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/employment . Please complete and upload an application form as directed.
Alternatively, if you are unable to apply online, please contact Eszter Vag, HR Assistant on smrecr@imperial.ac.uk.
A full curriculum vitae should be included with your application including the following information:
 Applicant’s full name, private address and private telephone number

A confidential fax number and e-mail address, where possible

Degrees (including University and dates)

Past and present posts

List of publications

Brief description of future research plans

Names, addresses and, email, fax numbers, of three referees.

Information on research grants and contracts which have been obtained, student supervision, etc.
Job Reference: SM029-13
Closing Date: 10 March 2013
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APPENDIX 1
1. IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
Imperial College London consistently achieves one of the highest rankings nationally and internationally. It is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research.
The President and Rector, Sir Keith O’Nions FRS, is the College’s academic head and chief executive officer. The Chairman of the Court and Council is Baroness Eliza
Manningham-Buller.
2.1 The Mission
Imperial College embodies and delivers world class scholarship, education and research in science, engineering and medicine, with particular regard to their application in industry, commerce and healthcare. We foster interdisciplinary working internally and collaborate widely externally.
2.2 Strategic Intent
The College’s vision and intent is to:
Continue to be a world-leading institution for scientific research and education,
To harness the quality, breadth and depth of our research capabilities to address the difficult challenges of today and the future,
To develop the next generation of researchers, scientists and academics,
To provide an education for students from around the world that equips them with the knowledge and skills they require to pursue their ambitions,
To make a demonstrable economic and social impact through the translation of our work into practice worldwide,
To engage with the world and communicate the importance and benefits of science to society.
2.3 Formation and History
Imperial College was est ablished in 1907 in London’s scientific and cultural heartland in
South Kensington, as a merger of the Royal College of Science, the City and Guilds
College and the Royal School of Mines. St Mary’s Hospital Medical School and the
National Heart and Lung Institute merged with the College in 1988 and 1995 respectively.
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Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School and the Royal Postgraduate Medical
School merged with the College on 1 August 1997 to form, with the existing departments on the St Mary’s and Royal Brompton campuses, the Faculty of Medicine.
In 2007, the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, was formed by merging
Hammersmith and St Mary’s Hospitals’ NHS Trusts with the College, forming the country’s largest NHS Trust. This also established the U K’s first Academic Health Science Centre
(AHSC) bringing together healthcare services, teaching and research for maximum synergistic benefits.
Imperial College was an independent constituent part of the University of London until July
2007, when it was granted a new royal charter declaring it an independent university in its own right.
The academic structure of Imperial College is divided into three faculties, the Faculties of
Engineering, Natural Sciences and Medicine. The College’s other major academic unit is the Business School.
2.4 Staff and Students
The academic and research staff of 3,322 includes 68 Fellows of the Royal Society, 68
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, 78 Fellows of the Academy of Medical
Sciences, one Fellow of the British Academy, four Crafoord Prize winners and two Fields
Medalists. Fourteen Nobel Laureates have been members of the College either as staff or students.
The College has 14,001 students, of whom 36 percent are postgraduate. Twenty nine per cent of students come from outside the European Union. External assessment of the
College’s teaching quality in many different subject areas has been judged to be of high standard. The proportion of women students has increased to 36 percent of the total.
2.5 Research
The quality of the College’s research has been judged consistently to be of the highest international standard and the proportion of income from research grants and contracts is one of the highest of any UK university.
The concentration of research in science, engineering and medicine gives the College a unique and internationally distinctive research presence.
Generous support for the College’s work comes from a wide variety of sources. From industry there are donations towards certain senior academic posts, advanced courses, bursaries and scholarships. The single largest contribution to the College from industrial concerns is in the form of contracts to carry out research. The College also gains considerable support from research councils and charities to undertake research.
2.6 Teaching and Learning
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The College’s overall educational aim is to ensure a stretching and exhilarating learning experience. While maintaining its traditional emphasis on single honours degree courses,
Imperial also aims to give students the opportunity to broaden their experience through courses relevant to student and employer needs.
In its MSc. course provision, the College seeks to provide a wide range of specialist courses in areas in which it has particular expertise. Many of those offered by nonmedical departments emphasise the valuable interaction between scientific/technological training and industrial experience, whilst those offered by the medical departments focus on subjects at the interface between basic science and medicine and on specialist educatio n for doctors and other health professionals in training. In addition, the College’s wide range of PhD programmes reflect its aim of pursuing research at the frontiers of scientific, engineering, management and medical knowledge and the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of this research.
The Centre for Educational Development raises and consolidates the profile of learning, teaching and educational development throughout the College. Newly-appointed nonclinical lecturers will be expected to develop and expand their teaching skills, and there are many learning and teaching activities for more experienced staff.
The Graduate School of Life Sciences and Medicine is the focus of postgraduate education and research in these areas. It maintains, enhances and monitors quality, and disseminates best practice, whilst initiating and developing new programmes, particularly those with an interdisciplinary slant.
The Graduate School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (GSEPS) is the focus for postgraduate education and research in the Engineering and Natural Science faculties and has quality assurance responsibilities for the two non-faculty departments: Humanities and the Business School.
The College’s teaching quality is audited regularly, both internally and externally. Recent external audit found teaching quality to be of a high standard.
2.7 Location
The College now has one of the largest operational estates of any UK University. It includes six central London campuses, the main South Kensington campus, the Charing
Cross campus, the Chelsea and Westminster campus, the Hammersmith campus, the
Royal Brompton campus and St Mary’s campus.
Silwood Park, a postgraduate campus at Ascot in Berkshire, houses the Ecology and
Evolution Section of the Biology Division, in the Department of Life Sciences. The successful Master’s courses in Crop Protection, Forest Protection and Ecology, Evolution and Conservation are run at Silwood together with the newly created Master’s course in
Conservation Science, and there is a thriving postgraduate community. The campus houses excellent research facilities and a wide range of natural environments. The NERC
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funded Centre for Population Biology is also based at Silwood, together with a Business
Centre.
3. THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE
The Faculty of Medicine is one of Europe’s largest medical institutions – in terms of its staff and student population and its research income. It was established in 1997, bringing together all the major West London medical schools into one world-class institution. It maintains close links with a number of NHS Trusts with whom it collaborates in teaching and research activities.
Although on several sites, its academic Schools, Institutes and Departments function as




 one Faculty, fully integrated within the College. The current Principal, Professor Dermot
Kelleher, took up his appointment in October 2012.
There are five academic Schools, Institutes and Departments:
Schools, Institutes and Departments
School/Institute/Department
Head
Department of Medicine
Department of Surgery and Cancer
Institute for Clinical Sciences
National Heart and Lung Institute
School of Public Health
Professor Gavin Screaton
Professor Jeremy Nicholson
Professor Amanda Fisher
Professor Kim Fox
Professor Elio Riboli of
Faculty Centre
Principal
Deputy Principal
Deputy Principal (Research)
Professor Dermot Kelleher
Professor Jenny Higham
Professor Jonathan Weber
Director of Education Professor Jenny Higham
Director of the Graduate School of Life Sciences & Medicine Professor Andrew George and the School of Professional Development
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APPENDIX 2
SALARY AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
A full set of terms and conditions will be given to the successful candidate, together with the College’s most important policies which affect staff. The principal terms and conditions are as follows:
Lecturer
The salary range for a lecturer is £44,150 - £49,200 (effective from 1 August 2012 until further notice, for London and Silwood Park).
The post will be graded at Level C in the Academic and Research Job Family. First increments for those staff will be paid according to their start date, i.e., on 1 October following appointment if appointed between 1 October and 31 March inclusive, and on the first of the month following six months’ service if appointed between 1 April and 30
September inclusive.
Academic staff normally take annual leave during College vacations and by arrangement with the Head of Department in the light of academic and departmental requirements.
Annual leave entitlement is 39 days for full time staff (pro rata entitlement for part time staff). This is inclusive of 8 days for Public holidays and a total of six days each year when the College is closed over Easter and Christmas.
In some years, because of the day of the week on which Christmas day falls, a decision may be made to increase the College closure to seven days. In these circumstances the annual leave entitlement will be increased to 40 days for full-time staff (again pro-rata for part-time staff).
At the beginning of the leave year staff will be required to allocate the appropriate number of days of their mandatory leave entitlement to cover the College Closure days and Public holidays that fall within that leave year. For part-time staff the allocation should cover their normal working days that fall upon a College closure day, bank or public holiday during that leave year.
The College Closure days and Public Holidays are listed on the HR website.
Salaries are payable on the 24 th day of each month (the exception being December) by transfer to a bank or building society account. Deductions in respect of income tax and
National Insurance contributions will be made from salaries at the statutory rates.
Annual cost of living increases will be determined in line with the recommendations of the
Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association’s Clinical Academic Staff Salaries
Committee (CASSC).
All appointments have a probationary period of six months, or, in the case Lecturers and
Senior Lecturers (clinical or non clinical), a training and development review period, which lasts 3 years for non-clinical Lecturers.
Personal annual leave entitlement is 30 days (pro rata for part-time staff).
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Staff are also entitled to 10 days public holidays per annum (including two statutory days).
College closure days are allocated in addition to public holidays at Christmas and Easter.
There is no obligation for staff to take days during college closure dates but if you do, this must be taken as part of your annual leave entitlement.
The occupational pension scheme is the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
Staff who are already members of the Federated Superannuation System for Universities
(FSSU) or the National Health Service Superannuation Scheme (NHSPS) may, if they are still eligible, retain their membership in these schemes.
Unless stated otherwise in the offer of employment, or agreed by the head of department, the appointment may be terminated by either side by giving a minimum of three months’ notice in writing. The last day of service should fall on one of the following dates: 31
December; 31 March; 30 June or 30 September or at the end of a term by agreement with the Head of Department.
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