Research Fellow

1000scholars; Greater London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 52,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing Days

Pension Scheme

Job summary

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is seeking to appoint a motivated post to develop standardized sequencing-based protocols for detecting pathogens in hospital environments. The role involves reviewing current practices, running expert consultations, and leading the creation of a standardized metadata reporting template in partnership with PHA4GE.

This one-year post is funded by Gates Foundation and based in London.

Qualifications

• The candidate holds a degree in Microbiology or related field and has experience applying sequencing-based methods to detect pathogens in hospital settings.
• Experience in developing and optimizing laboratory protocols for metagenomics across sampling, sequencing and analysis.
• Proven ability to curate, validate and submit sequencing data to public repositories; strong written and oral communication.

Responsibilities

• Develop standardized protocols for sequence-based pathogen detection in hospital environments.
• Create reporting templates and metadata templates in partnership with PHA4GE.
• Review current protocols and conduct consultations/workshops with experts to build consensus.
• Lead dissemination and collaboration activities with stakeholders and funders.

Skills

Sequencing-based pathogen detection

Bioinformatics analysis

Laboratory protocol development

Stakeholder communication

Education

Degree in Microbiology or related discipline

Tools

Metagenomics workflows

Job description

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one of the world’s leading public health universities. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice.

We are seeking to appoint an enthusiastic team member to work with Professor Kat Holt, to develop standardized protocols and reporting templates for sequence-based detection of pathogens in the hospital environment. They will undertake a review of current protocols and practices, and undertake a series of consultations and workshops with experts and potential users to develop consensus protocols suitable for use in low-resource settings. The appointee will also lead on the development of a standardized metadata template for reporting results, in partnership with the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE). This is a one-year post supported by a Gates Foundation grant.

The successful candidate will have a degree in Microbiology or a related discipline, and knowledge and experience of applying sequencing-based approaches to detect bacterial pathogens in the hospital environment, spanning all aspects from sampling to sequencing to bioinformatics analysis. This should include experience in developing and optimizing laboratory protocols for metagenomics, including different approaches to sampling and target enrichment, evidenced through authorship of published research articles and/or protocols. They will also have experience in bioinformatics analysis of metagenomics data, and ideally experience with curation, validation, and submission of such data to public repositories. The postholder will be required to communicate orally and in written form with a wide variety of experts and stakeholders including clinical microbiology and infection prevention and control teams. Ideally, they will have some experience with investigating infectious disease outbreaks in hospital settings, and working in or in partnership with low-resource hospital settings in Africa or Asia. Further particulars are available in the job description.

The post is full‑time and fixed term until 31 December 2027. The post is funded by the Gates Foundation and is available from January 2027.

The salary will be on the LSHTM salary scale, Grade 6 in the range £45,728-£51,872 per annum pro rata (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary Wellbeing Days. Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London at LSHTM.

Please note that if you are shortlisted and are unable to attend on the interview date it may not be possible to offer you an alternative date.

£45,728 to £51,872 per annum pro rata (inclusive of London Weighting), Grade 6