Metagenomics Research Scientist

Quadram Institute Bioscience; Norwich; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

The Quadram Institute Bioscience seeks a Research Scientist to explore the impact of plant-based diets on the gut microbiome. The role involves analyzing metagenomic data, employing machine learning, and contributes to impactful research on gut health and disease prevention. Ideal candidates hold a PhD and possess strong programming skills, with responsibilities including supervising research activities and developing innovative strategies.

Qualifications

• PhD in relevant fields.
• Experience in conducting scientific experiments independently.
• Programming skills in R, Python, Perl, or C++.

Responsibilities

• Analyze metagenomic data from diet interventions using machine learning.
• Supervise junior researchers and assist with grants and outreach.
• Develop and refine bioinformatic approaches for the research.

Skills

Microbiomes

Nutrition

Molecular biology

Programming

Education

PhD in biology, bioinformatics, or related discipline

Job description

Applications are invited for a Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Dr Hildebrand at the Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), Norwich, UK.

Background:

In this BBSRC-funded position, the impact of plant-based diets on the gut microbiome will be explored in metagenomes, including tracing bacterial strains, reconstructing their genomes and metabolic food-webs in the gastrointestinal ecosystem. This will be used to understand the impact a changing environment (food sources, immune system, invading pathogens) have on ecosystem stability. Questions we will be asking are, for example:

• How can food-derived pathogens be effectively prevented from colonizing the gastrointestinal tract? Does switching to a plant-based diet lead to a destabilised gut ecosystem (or reverse)? How can the gut microbiome supplement essential micronutrients to the human body?

To answer these questions, the postholder will be primarily working with metagenomic data from diet interventions, using machine learning to predict genomes, functions and ecosystem states (similar to previous work, see doi: 10.1038/s41531-025-00885-5, 10.1016/j.chom.2023.05.024, 10.1016/j.cgh.2024.11.006, 10.1111/1751-7915.14396).

The work will build on bioinformatic tools available in the group (www.falk.science/software, www.github.com/falklab), that will be further refined/ newly developed to enable cutting-edge bioinformatic approaches in the project.

Long-term, this research will contribute to developing pre-/pro-biotic strategies to reduce autoinflammatory disease and enable healthy aging in a wide population. In addition, the postholder will be involved in organizing group tasks, such as helping in supervising junior researchers, submitting grants, developing new research programmes and organizing outreach events.

The environment:

The Hildebrand group (https://falk.science) uses metagenomics to research the diversity, community interactions, and evolution of microbes in communities using custom software solutions.

The Quadram Institute is based on the Norwich Research Park, which is one of the largest single-site concentrations of research in food, genomics, and health in Europe. The Park hosts 4 BBSRC Institutes (including Earlham), 17,000 students, 3,000 full-time researchers and clinicians, and over 115 companies. The outstanding reputation of our researchers is internationally recognised, with 10 of the Park's scientists in the top 1% of the "most highly cited" in the world, including Dr Falk Hildebrand.

The applicant will have direct access to established PacBio/ONT, Hi-C and single cell sequencing facilities, as well as one of UK’s largest HPC cluster at the NRP.

The ideal candidate:

The applicant needs to hold a PhD (or equivalent) in biology, bioinformatics, computer science or a related discipline with a background and/or interest in at least one of the following subjects:

- Microbiomes, evolution & biodiversity

- Nutrition & patient cohorts

- Molecular biology & Metagenomics

The ideal candidate will have a keen interest in gut microbiology and nutrition, experience in conducting scientific experiments independently, writing papers, presenting work and grant writing. Basic statistics and programming skills (either R, python, Perl, C++, or equivalent) is expected. Specialized skills will be taught and developed through mentorship and collaborations.

Additional information:

Salary on appointment will be within the range £36,720 to £42,000 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post contracted until the funding end date of 31 March 2028.

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit our website https://jobs.quadram.ac.uk or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or [e-mail] quoting reference 1004914. This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from all sectors of society. The Institute values of Respect, Innovation, Collaboration and Excellence are at the heart of all we do, and we expect all employees to share and display these values. To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

About the Quadram Institute:

The Quadram Institute is a new interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to understanding how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease. Its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. A partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and BBSRC, it brings together scientists and clinicians in a state-of-the-art building on the Norwich Research Park. This is one of Europe’s largest centres of life sciences and home of the John Innes Centre and The Earlham Institute. (https://quadram.ac.uk/).

The closing date for applications will be 25 July 2025

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499) and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.