Applications are invited for a Research Scientist to join the group of Dr Alison Mather at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), based in Norwich, UK.

Background:

The post holder will join a fun, international and supportive group of bioinformaticians, microbiologists, epidemiologists and molecular ecologists. We work to understand the evolution, origins and transmission of bacteria between different host populations, with a focus on bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs. We work with many external collaborators, including the Food Standards Agency and public health laboratories (both animal and human) in the UK and abroad.

This position will entail working on microbial genomes obtained from across the One Health spectrum (humans, food, animals, the environment) to address key questions such as the relative contribution from different sources to the AMR and pathogen burden in humans. This will be achieved using a combination of approaches, including short-and long-read whole genome sequencing, bioinformatics analyses of large datasets and statistical/epidemiological analyses.

The role:

The successful post holder will analyse and interpret existing large collections of microbial whole-genome sequence data from Illumina and Oxford Nanopore MinION technologies using various bioinformatics approaches to address the project aims. The post holder will occasionally present research findings at project meetings, scientific conferences and outreach/training events. There is scope to develop new projects within the team and collaborate with other groups (including a dedicated team of bioinformaticians) as well – creativity is welcome!

The ideal candidate:

Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant subject (e.g. Computational Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, Bioinformatics, Epidemiology or related discipline), and experience in analysing microbial sequencing data. They should also possess a proven record in scientific writing and interpretation of data, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Additional information:

Salary on appointment will be within the range £31,625 to £38,575 per annum depending on qualifications and experience.

This is a full time contract for 2.5 years, or until 30th September 2022.

Further information and details of how to apply can be found here or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450462 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk  quoting reference 1003832.

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 2020.

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