Postdoctoral Research Associate

Royensoc; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

Royensoc is seeking a 3-year Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a NERC-funded project on adaptive introgression in European butterflies at the University of Edinburgh. The PDRA will lead population genomic analyses across two work packages and collaborate closely with an RA handling lab work.

Opportunities include fieldwork in France, and collaboration with teams in Spain and the Czech Republic. The ideal candidate will have a PhD in evolutionary/population genomics or a related field,

Qualifications

• PhD in evolutionary/population genomics or related field (or to be completed within 3 months).
• Strong skills in Python and R.
• Experience with computational genomics and statistics.
• Experience handling large genomic datasets.

Responsibilities

• Lead population genomic analyses across two work packages.
• Perform comparative scans of selective sweeps across 42 butterfly species.
• Analyze a hybrid zone system using whole-genome resequencing and long-read data.
• Collaborate with the RA, supervise project students and present work at conferences.
• Engage with collaborators in France, Spain and Czech Republic.

Skills

Python

R

Population genomics

Computational genomics

Statistics

Introgression analysis

Education

PhD in evolutionary/population genomics or related field

Job description

Full Time- 35 hours per week

36 months fixed term contract

The opportunity:

We are looking for a skilled and motivated 3‑year Postdoctoral Research Associate to join a NERC-funded project on adaptive introgression in European butterflies, led by Dr Konrad Lohse and Dr Simon Martin. The PDRA will lead population genomic analyses across two work packages:

• Comparative scans of selective sweeps across 42 butterfly species (21 sister-species pairs) to quantify how often adaptive evolution is fuelled by introgressed variants and to identify their functional targets.
• Analysis of a hybrid zone system, integrating whole‑genome resequencing and long‑read sperm sequencing to find spatial population genomic signals of gene conversion and adaptive introgression.

You will work with chromosome-level reference genomes, large WGS datasets and high‑performance computing, and collaborate closely with an RA responsible for lab work. The role includes opportunities for fieldwork in France, work with collaborators in Spain and Czech Republic, presenting at international conferences, and supervising project students.

You will join Konrad Lohse’s lab in the dynamic Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, as part of a project funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC). Applicants must have a PhD (or to be completed in 3 months) in evolutionary/population genomics or a related field, strong skills in Python/R, computational genomics and statistics, and enthusiasm for working with large genomic datasets. The post requires creativity in problem solving, and strong communication and organisational skills. An understanding of inference methods for detecting introgression and selective sweeps is desirable. Questions should be directed to [e-mail]

£41,064 to £48,822 per annum (Grade 7)