Research opportunity at UCL

An exciting opportunity is available for someone to gain a one year experience in research working with Respiratory Teams that make up part of the UCLH Biomedical Research Centre. The post holder will work as a Clinical Research Associate within UCL Respiratory Medicine. The focus of the research programme is to promote Translational Research Partnership Studies but the post holder will also have ample opportunity to develop their own research project. The post is funded by NOCRI (NIHR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure).

Funding for this post is available for 12 months in the first instance.

Dr Joanna Porter says “The post holder would be helping in some commercial studies but would also have the opportunity to spend about 50% of their time working towards putting together a fellowship for further funding, ideally some form of inflammatory lung disease.”

Dr Porter is Consultant at UCLH, with a clinical interest in pulmonary fibrosis particularly in the context of underlying rheumatological disease, particularly dermatomyositis, scleroderma and lupus erythematosis and on the intensive care unit. As a researcher she is a Reader with an interest in mechanisms of leukocyte recruitment to, and clearance from, the lung in both health and disease. It is hoped that an understanding of these mechanisms may lead to translational benefits in diseases as diverse as asthma, COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and infection, that are characterised by inappropriate, excessive or insufficient leukocyte influx. Her group also has an interest in the regulation of epithelial integrity and polarity, which may have enormous implications in the fields of lung cancer, lung morphogenesis and repair of the damaged lung. Of particular interest is the link between chronic inflammation and lung cancer which although well recognised is not well understood.

Here are some recent publications from Dr Porter:

• Ong, Catherine WM, et al. “Neutrophil-Derived MMP-8 Drives AMPK-Dependent Matrix Destruction in Human Pulmonary Tuberculosis.” (2015): e1004917.
• Mikolasch, Theresia A., and Joanna C. Porter. “Transbronchial cryobiopsy in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease: A cool new approach.” Respirology 19.5 (2014): 623-624.
• Saketkoo, Lesley Ann, et al. “Reconciling Healthcare Professional and Patient Perspectives in the Development of Disease Activity and Response Criteria in Connective Tissue Disease–related Interstitial Lung Diseases.” The Journal of rheumatology 41.4 (2014): 792-798.
• Porter, Joanna C., et al. “Signaling through integrin LFA-1 leads to filamentous actin polymerization and remodeling, resulting in enhanced T cell adhesion.” The Journal of Immunology 168.12 (2002): 6330-6335.

If you are interested, please read the job advert, and get in touch with Dr Porter to discuss the fellowship and for support in the application process. Remember you will need to consider the rules regarding OOPR in order to take up a post.  The deadline for applications is 7th October.

Other Respiratory physicians who are members of the UCL Centre for Inflammation and Tissue Repair include Prof Rachel Chambers,  Prof Jeremy Brown, Dr Robin McAnulty, and Dr John Hurst.  They have close links to researchers in the Lungs for Living Research Centre including Prof Samuel Janes, Dr Neal Navani, and Dr Adam Giangreco. If you are interested in research, now or in the future, these researchers are all keen for you to get in touch and talk to them about opportunities. They support many trainees through the grant and fellowship application process and are always looking for bright, enthusiastic trainees to join their research groups. Don’t be shy, get in touch!