Research Fellow (Maternity Cover)

London School Of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine; Greater London; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 53,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Wellbeing days

Annual leave 30 days

Job summary

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine seeks a Research Fellow for the Gates-funded Field Evaluation of P. vivax Serological Test and Treat project.

The role involves laboratory work at partner sites, sample handling, and intensive bioinformatics analysis of sequencing data. The position requires a postgraduate degree (PhD preferred), strong malaria genomics and clinical trials experience, and proficiency with Illumina and Oxford Nanopore platforms.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in a relevant topic; doctoral preferred.
• Experience in malaria genomics and clinical trials.
• Experience with multiplexed amplicon sequencing assay design and analysis.
• Bioinformatics analysis of genomic sequencing data from multiple platforms (Illumina, Oxford Nanopore).

Responsibilities

• Lead laboratory activities at partner institutions, including sample selection and DNA extraction.
• Conduct multiplexed amplicon sequencing and oversee sequencing workflows.
• Lead bioinformatics analyses and interpret results; contribute to publications.
• Present findings to collaborators and stakeholders; train local teams; capacity strengthening.
• Coordinate procurement, logistics, and shipment of lab supplies for the project.
• Travel internationally up to ~50% to collaborating laboratories.

Skills

Malaria genomics

Clinical trials

Bioinformatics

Amplicon sequencing

Illumina sequencing

Oxford Nanopore

Education

Postgraduate degree (ideally PhD)

Tools

DNA extraction

Multiplexed sequencing

Job description

Department

Department of Infection Biology

Salary

£46,643 to £52,909 per annum pro rata inclusive

Closing Date

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Reference

ITD-DIB-2026-18

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.

This post is for a Research Fellow for the Gates-funded Field Evaluation of P. vivax Serological Test and Treat project.

The project involves targeted sequencing of malaria parasite infections and bioinformatics analysis within the framework of a clinical trial. It has a strong international component and will be performed in close collaboration with partners at the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) in Ethiopia, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, and Institut Pasteur de Paris.

The successful candidate will undertake laboratory activities at partner institutions, including sample selection, DNA extraction, and multiplexed amplicon sequencing. They will lead the bioinformatics analysis of sequencing data, interpret results, contribute to scientific publications, present findings to collaborators and stakeholders.

Working closely with researchers across partner institutions, the candidate will also contribute to training and capacity strengthening activities for local team members. The role requires regular international travel, with approximately 50% of the time spent at collaborating laboratories.

In addition, the candidate will support project coordination activities, including the procurement, logistics, and shipment of laboratory supplies and equipment required for project implementation.

The successful candidate will have a postgraduate degree, ideally a doctoral degree, in a relevant topic, relevant experience in malaria genomics and clinical trials, demonstrated experience in multiplexed amplicon sequencing assay design, implementation, and analysis, demonstrated experience in the bioinformatics analysis of genomic sequencing data generated from multiple platforms, including Illumina and Oxford Nanopore technologies. Further particulars are available in the job description.

The post is fixed term to cover maternity leave until 31 May 2027 and full-time 35 hours per week, 1.0 FTE. The post is funded by the Gates Foundation and is available from 01 December 2026. The salary will be on the LSHTM scale, Grade 6 in the range £46,643- £52,909 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.