Research Assistant

Job id:162045.

Posted:28 October 2026. Closing date:11 November 2026.

Business unit:IoPPN. Department:Psychological Medicine.

Contact details: Zunera Khan. Zunera.2.khan@kcl.ac.uk

Location: Denmark Hill Campus. Category:Research.

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About us:

The School of Academic Psychiatry brings together five leading clinical departments Addictions, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science, Psychological Medicine, and Psychosis Studies. Our community includes more than 100 Principal Investigators and a vibrant research portfolio supported by £30–40 million in active grants. Across the School, our work spans the full breadth of psychiatry—from public policy to molecular genetics, from perinatal mental health to old age, and from psychological therapies to advanced brain imaging.

This role will sit within the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHBA), Department of Psychological Medicine. The Centre aims to advance the development of biomarkers for neurocognitive disorders and to create innovative approaches for the early diagnosis of cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and ageing-related psychiatric conditions.

About the role:

The Research Assistant will play a vital role in supporting the successful delivery of Brains for Dementia Research study (BDR). BDR is a cohort study of older adults, which involves planned brain donation in collaboration with the MRC London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank. Participants take part in assessments of memory, cognition, behaviour and activities of daily living at 1-2 yearly intervals, so that donated brain tissue and clinical data is available to researchers working in the field of dementia. King’s College London is one of six BDR recruitment centres.

The post holder will be responsible for conducting follow-up assessments of participants (people with and without dementia), via face-to-face and telephone interviews. The role will involve travel to participants homes within the London area and the Southeast. In addition, the post holder will assist in the development and maintenance of essential study documentation and processes to ensure compliance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and institutional policies.

This is a full time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 12 months from the start date of the contract, with an anticipated start date of 8 January 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 up to and including grade 7. Visit the Centre for Research Staff Development for more information.

About you:

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

Essential criteria

1. A first degree in health or social science
2. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a range of professionals
3. Ability to deal sensitively with study participants and their families/carers
4. Knowledge of the needs of older people with dementia
5. Good IT skills and presentation skills
6. Relevant research experience (e.g. participant recruitment, data collection, epidemiological study, research study or intervention trial)
7. Experience of data checking/validation, data cleaning, and data management with good understanding of data confidentiality and the Data Protection Act
8. Willing to travel within South London and the South-East on a regular basis

Desirable criteria

1. MSc in a health-related subject
2. Qualified and experience in blood sample collection, or willingness to train in phlebotomy
3. An understanding of the process of post-mortem collection of tissue and best practice in tissue donation
4. Experience of supporting people at a time of bereavement
5. A valid driving license and access to a vehicle is desirable. However, this is not essential provided you can meet the travel requirements of the role and complete home visits via public transport or alternative travel arrangements

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Further Information

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

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 person specification section of the job description. 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.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.

Interviews are due to be held on a date to be confirmed.

This post is subject to Disclosure and Barring Service and Occupational Health clearances.