King’s College London is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Chiappini Lab in the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology. The laboratory is internationally recognised for engineering nanoneedle biointerfaces that enable intracellular delivery and molecular sampling in living systems. It pioneered biodegradable porous-silicon nanoneedles for efficient in vivo nucleic-acid delivery (Nature Materials, 2015), established nanoneedle approaches for delivery and therapeutic gene editing in clinically relevant tissues including the corneal endothelium(Advanced Materials, Advanced Sciences, ACS Nano), and recently demonstrated non-destructive spatiotemporal molecular profiling of living tissues (Nature Nanotechnology, 2025). This work is underpinned by an extensive publication and intellectual-property portfolio and sustained competitive funding from the European Research Council, Royal Society, UKRI, charities and industry.

 

The post brings together nanofabrication and device engineering at the London Centre for Nanotechnology with quantitative cell and tissue biology at King’s Guy’s Campus. The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary environment spanning bioengineering, molecular biology, ophthalmology and translational medicine, with access to advanced cleanroom, imaging and biological facilities.

The postholder will take scientific and operational ownership of developing a new nanoneedle device for repeated intracellular access. The disruptive advance is not simply a more efficient transfection substrate. The aim is to create an engineered interface that can sample intracellular material or deliver molecular cargo repeatedly, including at short defined intervals, while causing minimal perturbation to cell viability, phenotype, barrier function and tissue architecture. This would allow the same living cells or tissues to be measured and manipulated longitudinally, replacing destructive endpoint workflows with time-resolved experiments and opening a route towards feedback-enabled research, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

 

You will define performance requirements and decision criteria, design and iterate nanoneedle architectures, and establish reproducible fabrication, assembly and quality-control procedures using the cleanroom facilities at the London Centre for Nanotechnology. You will characterise device geometry, porosity, surface chemistry, mechanical and interfacial behaviour, loading and release, and device-to-device variability.

 

You will then establish repeated sampling and delivery protocols in mammalian cells and corneal endothelial models, progressing to ex vivo tissue where appropriate. Quantitative studies will determine how access frequency, dose and device parameters influence molecular yield or delivery efficiency, recovery kinetics, viability and biological function. The work will require rigorous experimental design, appropriate controls and benchmarks, statistical analysis, traceable data and predefined acceptance criteria.

 

The role carries substantial intellectual ownership and is suited to a researcher who can work credibly across engineering and biology. You will lead the experimental strategy, troubleshoot across disciplines, manage project risks and milestones, and collaborate closely with engineers, molecular scientists and ophthalmology partners. You will lead and contribute to high-quality publications, conference presentations, reports and funding applications, and support intellectual-property and translational planning where appropriate. The post provides scope to establish a distinctive research profile in nanoneedle biointerfaces, longitudinal cell interrogation and translational nanomedicine.

 

This is a full-time post, and you will be offered a fixed-term contract for one year until 31 December 2027.

 

Research staff at King’s are entitled to at least 10 days per year (pro-rata) for professional development. This entitlement, from the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, applies to Postdocs, Research Assistants, Research and Teaching Technicians, Teaching Fellows and AEP-equivalent staff up to and including Grade 7. Further information is available from the Centre for Research Staff Development.