Detailed job description and main responsibilities

At Synnovis, we are currently shaping the future of pathology services by creating a world-leading Hub and Spoke pathology network with our NHS partners. A large part of this modernisation will involve moving 70% of our services to a purpose built, state of the art Hub laboratory in the heart of London. For now, the job you are applying for will be based at one of our hospital sites however, from 1 April 2024 our people and services will start to move to our Hub laboratory in Blackfriars, Southwark, SE1, with some work remaining in refurbished essential services laboratories across our hospital network, focusing on the rapid turnover of urgent tests. Please do ask your recruiting manager if you wish to find out more.

This is an exciting new role to lead a research project at Synnovis in partnership with Kings College Hospital and Kings College London histopathology and haematology departments. The project is funded by a Synnovis Innovation Accelerator Fund (IAF) Progressive Award and involves developing immunohistochemistry assays to detect chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells and their target antigens in tissue biopsies from patients with lymphoid malignancies.

CAR-T cells are a revolutionary treatment recently introduced for several blood cancers including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma with 40-60% cure rates for some of these cancers. The ability to detect CAR-T cells and their target antigens in tissue biopsies will help clinicians select patients for CAR-T treatment, understand mechanisms underlying CAR-T failure, improve treatment outcomes and manage CAR-T toxicity better. KCH as one of the largest CAR-T centres in the UK is uniquely placed to be able to undertake this research in partnership with Synnovis/KCL.

The post holder will be based at Denmark Hill in Kings College Hospital histopathology & haematology departments and in the Rayne Institute, Kings College London under the supervision of Dr Liron Barnea Slonim, Consultant Histopathologist and Dr Reuben Benjamin, Consultant Haematologist. The post holder may also need to spend some time at the Synnovis hub laboratory, Blackfriars.

Duties and Responsibilities

To liaise with the Haematology Biobank, Rayne Institute, KCL to access tissue biopsies from patients with multiple myeloma and B-cell lymphoma

To undertake optimisation of anti-BCMA and anti-CD19 CAR, BCMA and GPRC5D immunohistochemistry stains in bone marrow biopsies and lymph nodes from patients with multiple myeloma and B-cell lymphoma

To perform cell culture work with CAR-T cells and tumour cell lines for use as positive controls

To participate in continuous personal development

 Synnovis is a pathology partnership between SYNLAB UK and Ireland, and the NHS, including sites, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver and transform pathology services across South East London.

The partnership provides services to 1.7 million people living in South East London, as well as to hundreds of thousands of patients from outside the region who use local healthcare services.

The partnership provides diagnostics, testing and digital pathology for hospital trusts, GP services and other healthcare providers.

King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s leading NHS Foundation Trusts in specialist teaching. King’s has various divisions including Neurosciences, Haematology, Cancer and Cardiovascular sciences, where there are unlimited opportunities to develop and perfect your career.

Over the last 170 years, King’s has delivered nothing but world class service to all its patients from deprived communities as well as some of the wealthiest in London