Postdoctoral Research Associate - Strand, London, WC2R 2LSAbout UsThe post will be based on the Guy’s Campus within the School of Basic and Medical Biosciences at St John’s Institute of Dermatology and include a secondment position at the Blizard Institute, QMUL. The candidate will work closely with the principal investigator Dr Joanna Jacków-Malinowska and in collaboration with Dr Emanuel Rognoni at QMUL. We will also closely work with Prof John McGrath and Prof Jemima Mellerio, both of whom are world-renowned experts in Epidermolysis Bullosa and will be the key clinical personnel to guide with clinical relevant questions to this project. The postholder also will benefit more broadly from the vast interdisciplinary research and academic networks at King’s College London and QMUL. About the roleDominant dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DDEB) is a rare genetic skin disorder leading to severe skin fragility from birth caused by single pathogenic variants in the type VII collagen gene (COL7A1). These defects alter the type VII collagen protein in the skin which normally makes adhesion structures called anchoring fibrils that hold the outer layer (epidermis) and inner layer (dermis) together to prevent blistering. Gene therapy is the only possible cure for these patient to restore skin health long-term. While currently developed gene editing approaches are highly effective in cell culture, a key challenge is the skin targeted delivery in vivo. This CureEB charity funded project will focus on testing and optimising the gene editing delivery targeting COL7A1 with a lipid nanoparticle system into the skin using a combination of state-of-the-art 3D skin cell culture and in vivo DDEB disease models, carrying equivalent disease causing single nucleoid variants and mimicking key features of the human disease. The Jacków-Malinowska lab has the opportunity for a full-time 3-year Research associated (post-doctoral) (PDRA) position to join their Molecular and Genome Editing Therapeutics Group at King’s College London.This is a highly multidisciplinary and collaborative project between four world leading institutions: KCL, QMUL, UCL and PAN (Poland). The successful candidate will hold a secondment to QUML to work with the DEB model under guidance of Dr Emanuel Rognoni. Building on extensive previous work from the Jacków-Malinowska lab (Jackow et al., 2019 PNAS; Sheriff et al., 2022 Scie Rep; Guri-Lamce et al., JID 2024; Guir-Lamce et al., BJD 2024), the successful candidate will start performing in vivo testing of gene editing in the DDEB mouse model using lipid nanoparticles previously tested in vitro. We will test different delivery routes of lipid nanoparticles, new formulated lipid nanoparticle compositions, efficiency of epidermal and dermal cell targeting in vivo, and the long-term therapeutic implications for skin homeostasis and wound healing. Through this preclinical work the PDRA will actively support the clinical translation of our novel gene therapy approach. This is a fixed term contract until 31st May 2028.