About Us

We are seeking to appoint an Islet Isolation Facility Manager or Senior Islet Isolation Facility Manager, depending on experience, to the King’s College Hospital Islet Isolation Laboratory.

King’s College Hospital Islet Isolation Laboratory is one of three HTA licensed facilities in the UK contributing to the national islet transplant programme. We receive donor pancreases and produce human islets for transplantation (by hepatic infusion). From our isolation centre, islets are shipped to a total of five possible NHS islet transplant centres [King’s (our local clinical team), Oxford, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle]. The King’s Islet Isolation Laboratory sits within the Cell Therapy Unit in King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill. The unit was established in 2012 to prepare human cells from donor organs under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) conditions for clinical use. It is a joint facility shared by Bone Marrow Transplantation, engineered CAR-T immunological therapy group, the Hepatocyte Biology and Transplantation Group and Islet Transplantation Group of King’s College Hospital. This unit is a licensed cell isolation laboratory by Human Tissue Act Authorities to produce human tissue for clinical use and research. The lab also processes pancreases removed for the purpose of islet auto transplantation**.** The King’s Islet Isolation Team, under the leadership of Prof Victoria Salem, is also very closely linked with the King’s College London Islet Biology Research Group and clinical diabetes service.

The successful applicant will be based at the clinical trial unit (isolation facilities) in King’s College Hospital and research offices in the adjacent James Black Centre at the Denmark Hill Hospital Campus within the School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Medicine & Sciences (SCMMS). You will also be afforded research laboratory space in the Department of Diabetes at the Guy’s Campus with the basic islet biology group. This provides an outstanding multi-disciplinary environment for the pursuit of cutting-edge diabetes, cardiovascular and metabolic research.

About the role

The Islet Isolation Facility Manager or Senior Islet Isolation Facility Manager, will work as part of the senior clinical cell isolation team to ensure that the islet service is maintaining the standards required of a licensed laboratory by HTA Authority. You will also be part of the on call team and assist in the isolation of human pancreatic islets of Langerhans for clinical cell transplantation and for research. You will work very closely with Professor Victoria Salem, the clinical academic lead for the service, to ensure that the islet facility, auto- and allo-transplant services are at the cutting edge of service delivery and research-driven innovation. Therefore, as well as ultimate responsibility of running the facility to HTA and GMP standards and line management of the 6 junior islet scientists, you will also maintain excellent collaborative ties with the UK islet transplant network such as attending national (NHSBT) Pancreas Advisory Group meetings, sharing best practice with other isolation centres and presenting islet science at national and international meetings. We also expect to support you to develop your own independent programme in human islet research.

Candidates without previous experience of human islet isolation but with a track record in high level laboratory practice and management, preferably in HTA approved facilities and previous independent research activity may be offered the G7 Islet Isolation Facility Manager, with a view to rapid upskilling in post.

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

As part of the clinical isolation team you will be part of a 1:2 on-call rota shared with the Oxford Islet Isolation Facility. In general, this on-call rota rolls in 7-day on/off cycles. During a typical on call period we receive on average one donor pancreas that takes up to 3 days to run through all the steps of digestion and culture prior to certified release of islets. This may therefore entail out of hours work during that on-call period, and time off in lieu is provided to cover time that is spent isolating out of regular office hours. The team is designed to enable full coverage of annual, study and leave agreed in advance. It will also be understood that 50% of your time should be dedicated to research and service development. Since there is a strong expectation of research and development activity you will be afforded time for this element.

About You

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

Essential criteria - Grade 7

PhD in a physical or health science discipline or equivalent experience with strong analytical and critical thinking skills

Ability to assess and organise resources, plan and progress work activities effectively and manage and prioritise high workload and conflicting demands. Demonstrated ability to manage complex workflows, prioritise highpressure tasks, and coordinate 24hour service delivery

Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), communicating with and engaging staff and diverse stakeholders with the ability to work collaboratively across functions and organisations

Ability to devise solutions and develop creative approaches to solve problems

Practical experience in scientific methods and techniques, specifically cGMP or Clean Room Practice.

Experience of line and team management in a laboratory setting

Understanding of HTA regulatory landscape

Able to work a shift pattern, including on call, meeting the requirement to respond and get to site within 90 minutes

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of islet research (particularly human islets)

Knowledge of clinical islet isolation experience

Experience of pancreatic islet biology, diabetic or transplant medicine

Publication record

Essential criteria - Grade 8

PhD in a physical or health science discipline or equivalent experience with strong analytical and critical thinking skills

Ability to assess and organise resources, plan and progress work activities effectively and manage and prioritise high workload and conflicting demands. Demonstrated ability to manage complex workflows, prioritise highpressure tasks, and coordinate 24hour service delivery

Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), communicating with and engaging staff and diverse stakeholders at all levels with the ability to work collaboratively across functions and organisations

Ability to devise solutions and develop creative approaches to solve problems

Knowledge and experience of pancreatic islet biology, diabetic or transplant medicine. Practical experience in scientific methods and techniques and cGMP or Clean Room Practice

Experience of line and team management in a scientific regulated laboratory setting

Understanding of HTA regulatory landscape for clinical cell therapies

Able to work a shift pattern, including on call, meeting the requirement to respond and get to site within 90 minutes

Desirable criteria

Extensive clinical islet isolation experience

Experience in Islet research (particularly human islets)

Previous research experience in human islet isolation and islet transplantation

Publication record