Real-time cortisol and aldosterone assay (DC8)

This PhD project is embedded in Work Package 2: Technologies for Multimodal Data of ENDOTRAIN. The project is focussed on the development of a wearable sensor for the minimally-invasive measurement of cortisol and aldosterone in humans. Current technology lacks the needed temporal resolution to detect abnormal hormone patterns partly due to the number of samples required to gain adequate resolution. We aim to adapt two distinct non-invasive or minimally invasive technologies for the measurement of cortisol and other adrenal hormones: (i) solid microneedle biosensors measuring continuously in interstitial fluid (ii) exhaled condensed breath as a novel non-invasive sample matrix. The project is part of an international doctoral training network with academic and industrial partners, and provides and excellent opportunity for networking and multi-disciplinary collaboration in a clinically important field.  

Expected results: Improved minimally and non-invasive sensors for cortisol to measure temporal and dynamic relationships between plasma levels and target analytes in exhaled condensed breath and in interstitial fluid. 

Research field: 

wearable technology, biosensors, electroanalysis, hormonal monitoring 

Secondments planned: 

• Designworks (Windsor UK): 2 months to develop the U-Cort sampler.
• University of Bergen (Norway): 1 month to test sensor in patients and healthy subjects.
• University of Bristol (UK): 1 month to test sensor in patients and healthy subjects. 

Imperial College London: Frequently rated as one of the top 10 universities in the world, Imperial College London is a science, engineering, medicine and business-oriented university based on several campuses in central and west London. It has 12,000 undergraduate, 4,500 taught and 4,500 research postgraduate students (2022/2023). Imperial’s research income in 2022-3 was £383.1m. As well as traditional subject based departments, the College hosts many cross-disciplinary centres and networks of excellence as well as global challenges institutes which cut across discipline boundaries. 

The candidate should work full-time on the project and must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the UK for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.  

PhD Bioengineering, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/admin/research/doctoral/ 

Participation in the interdisciplinary training of the ENDOTRAIN network includes workshops, retreats, transferable skills courses, and cohort-wide meetings across Europe. 

Essential requirements 

• Good qualifications (first class or upper second class honours bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering, biomedical engineering or related subject.
• A master’s degree in a relevant subject (analytical chemistry, electrochemistry, bioinstrumentation) - OR an integrated masters (MEng, MSci or equivalent) in a relevant subject (chemistry, chemical engineering, bioengineering or biomedical engineering).
• Hands-on experience in the unit operations of wet chemistry, biochemistry or related technical skills.
• Hands-on experience in electroanalytical chemistry and instrumental analytical chemistry (liquid chromatography, spectroscopy, LC-MS, GC-MS etc.).
• Excellent interpersonal skills- there will be interactions with project partners, clinicians, healthy volunteers and potentially with patients.
• Experience in open-ended research projects.
• A keen interest in the development of wearable technology and willingness to contribute to design and execution of the project.
• A willingness and ability to engage in multidisciplinary collaborations. 

Desirable skills 

• Laboratory-based internships in either industrial, academic or research institutes.
• Digital signal processing, denoising, time series analysis.
• Microfabrication
• Analogue electronics design and build. 

Salary £44,284.07- £48,796.89 

Applications will only be accepted through the Jobbnorge portal.

Applications without the mandatory attachments (application, CV, mobility declaration, motivation templates) will not be considered.