Research Fellow in Within-Host Microbial Genomics

HMRN; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellcome funding

Job summary

University College London seeks a Research Fellow with interests in bacterial evolution, genomics and antimicrobial resistance to lead a major component of a Wellcome-funded research programme. The Fellow will work on a longitudinal study of pigs on commercial farms, combining repeated sampling with deep sequencing to study how AMR genes spread within and between hosts.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in a related field and have experience analysing microbial genomic data and sequencing

Qualifications

• PhD in microbial genomics, microbiology, bioinformatics or epidemiology.
• Experience analysing microbial genomic data and sequencing workflows.
• Interested in cross-disciplinary work across field, lab, sequencing and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead a major component of the Wellcome-funded programme.
• Coordinate longitudinal sampling and deep sequencing to study AMR spread.
• Analyse genomic data and contribute to the interpretation of results.

Skills

Genomics analysis

Microbial evolution

Bioinformatics

Data interpretation

Education

PhD in microbial genomics

Tools

Sequencing workflows

Bioinformatics pipelines

Job description

About us

This is an exciting opportunity to join a new Wellcome-funded research programme led by Dr Gemma Murray in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCL. The programme will investigate how commensal bacteria contribute to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacterial pathogens. The postholder will join a growing interdisciplinary research team.

About the role

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic Research Fellow with interests in bacterial evolution, genomics and antimicrobial resistance to take a leading role in a major component of a new Wellcome-funded research programme. The Fellow will work on a longitudinal study of pigs on commercial farms in Catalonia, Spain, combining repeated sampling of individuals over time with deep sequencing of within-host bacterial diversity to investigate how bacterial strains and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes spread, persist and move within and between hosts, and how these processes are shaped by antimicrobial treatment. Please see the UCL website for full details.

About you

The successful candidate will have a PhD, or PhD close to completion, in microbial genomics, microbiology, bioinformatics, epidemiology or a closely related discipline, together with a strong understanding of bacterial evolution and genomics. They will have experience analysing microbial genomic data and experience of research involving biological samples, with an understanding of relevant bacterial culture, sample-processing and sequencing workflows. They should be interested in working across the field, laboratory, sequencing and analytical components of the project.

Please see the UCL website for the full person specification

What we offer

The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work – please https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-advice/ways-working to find out more.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know that diversity and inclusion are fundamental drivers of creativity, innovation, and excellence, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong, thrive, and reach our full potential. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women’.

• Research Fellows - 'Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £39,807 - £41,833 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.'
• This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Academic Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies/2021/jun/conditions-service-academic-staff for more information.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.
Customer advert reference: B02-11151