Vacancy ID:
13423
Location:
Leicester
School/Division:
Cardiovascular Sciences
Vacancy terms:
Full time fixed term contract until 31 July 2027
Salary details:
Grade 7 - £39,906 to £46,049 per annum
Hours per week:
37.5
Advert closes midnight on:
29 Jun 2026

About the role

The postholder will lead development and validation of an ultrafast UHPLC-QTOF-MS method capable of simultaneously quantifying 25 antihypertensive medications — a genuinely novel platform with no direct comparator in the published literature, not incremental refinement of an established assay.

The post will work with the National Centre for Adherence Testing (NCAT) at University Hospitals of Leicester , the only dedicated medication adherence testing centre in Europe, processing approximately 2,000 samples annually from more than 50 NHS Trusts and is supported by a competitive, peer-reviewed MRC award providing an established deliverable framework from the outset. Methodological outputs are targeted for publication in high-impact analytical journals.

The LLR Integrated Care Board has a commissioning agreement in place to convert CAT into a commissioned NHS service line. The assay the postholder develops will enter clinical diagnostic use. The ultrafast method is the analytical foundation for a sequentially structured programme including a national NHS implementation pathway, active European consortium work, and major fellowship and partnership grant applications targeting 2027. The postholder establishes infrastructure on which a sustained national and European programme depends.

Skills developed here (method development, LC-MS/MS and QTOF-MS platform operation, ISO 15189 quality frameworks) are directly transferable to NHS laboratory and the pharmaceutical industry.

About you

You will be supervised by Dr Pankaj Gupta, Associate Professor in Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester and Co-Director of NCAT the researcher who created Chemical Adherence Testing and established it as an internationally recognised clinical discipline, with an H-index of 22 and over 2,500 citations.

Dr Gupta's team developed the first biochemical spot urine adherence test, established the only dedicated adherence testing centre in Europe, and has directly shaped international clinical guidelines from the European Society of Hypertension, the American Heart Association, and the European Society of Cardiology. Your work will contribute to a programme with demonstrable NHS and patient impact.

The group is housed in the Van Geest Multi-Omics Laboratory, led by Professor Don Jones, a internationally recognised authority in mass spectrometry and metabolomics whose work spans cancer biology, cardiovascular disease, and translational analytical science. Working within this environment provides exceptional breadth of scientific exposure and cross-disciplinary collaboration opportunities rarely available in a single laboratory setting.

The group holds active MRC funding, has submitted to a major European consortium, and is developing a sustained national and European research pipeline through 2027 and beyond. You will join at a pivotal moment of growth.

The groupis dynamic and friendly and has a strong culture of mentorship and values scientific curiosity at every career stage

Additional information

Informal enquiries are welcome and can be made to Dr Pankaj Gupta; [email protected] 

As part of the University’s ongoing commitment to professional development, this role will also be considered on a seconded basis for existing staff members. Please ensure this is discussed with your line manager prior to applying. More information regarding secondments can be found here 
 
The University of Leicester has been changing the world, and changing people’s lives, for 100 years. When you join us, you’ll become part of a community of Citizens of Change, which includes not only our staff and our current students but also thousands of Leicester graduates around the world.
 
As a diverse and forward-thinking employer, we embed the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion into everything we do. That includes not just our core missions of teaching and research, but also our support for staff, students and our local community through our values of Inspiring, Impactful and Inclusive through our values of Inspiring, Impactful and Inclusive.
 
We’re committed to the wellbeing of all our staff and to the sustainability of our environment, on our campus and beyond. We offer a competitive salary package, excellent pension scheme and a generous annual leave allowance, along with opportunities to develop your career in a supportive and collaborative environment.
 
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