Research Scientist

Applications Close: 30 January 2023

Salary: £33,050 to £40,750 per annum depending on qualifications and experience

Contract Length: Full time, 2 years

We’re looking for a Research Scientist to join the exciting project investigating the association of Salmonella with Protists in wastewater in Harare Zimbabwe.

This is a collaboration between scientists from the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Harare and Prof Kingsley, Dr Hildebrand and Dr Savva from QIB and Prof Hall from the Earlham Institute, Norwich.

The Kingsley group combines bioinformatics, genomics, molecular microbiology and models of infection to investigate the evolution of interactions between pathogens, the environment and the host.

We investigate the genomic diversity of bacterial pathogens and their associated microbial communities.

We aim to understand the function and evolutionary history of genes important to disease, transmission, drug resistance and phage sensitivity. We test hypotheses using classical molecular genetics, microbiology, and models of infection. Our work has shed light on how new pathogens emerge and evolve in response to farming practice, and how this may affect productivity, animal welfare and risk to food safety.

The role

The successful applicant will work within an interdisciplinary team of computational, molecular and statistician scientists. The project will build on a phase I BMGF Grand Challenges Explorations project where you will employ experimental studies to test whether Salmonella is associated with specific protist species in the aquatic environment and that a viable protist community is required for optimal survival.

The project will involve the opportunity to travel to Zimbabwe for knowledge exchange and training. QIB provides a vibrant and exciting setting composed of multiple research teams working on microbial genomics, molecular epidemiology, microbial communities, and food science. We offer the chance to work with world leading, cutting edge technologies both in molecular and computational science and give you the opportunity to broaden your skills through training as required.

You will gain experience in molecular biology, microbiology, data analysis, microscopy and project management and logistics, and publish excellent science in leading peer-reviewed journals.

The ideal candidate

The ideal candidate will have a PhD in Microbiology or a related discipline with a background in molecular microbiology, microscopy or related areas. You will have the opportunity to train in bioinformatics / data science and microscopy as needed.

The post holder will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, as engagement with scientists during project management and logistics is an important component of the project.

Additional information

Salary on appointment will be within the range £33,050 to £40,750 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post for a contract of 24 months.

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit the HR website or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk quoting reference 1004382.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sectors of society.  The Institute supports equality of opportunity within the workplace and expects 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.

 The closing date for applications will be 30 January 2023

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

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