Research Assistant

Location: Stirling Campus

The Post

Applications are invited for x2 Research Assistants (RA) positions to work on “Human Pathogens in the Environment”. We are seeking highly motivated individuals specialising in environmental science and/or environmental microbiology. The successful candidates will be based in Stirling and become part of a wider interdisciplinary team aiming to understand the persistence, survival, and cycling of human pathogens in the environment.

Our research projects focus on quantifying the effects of pollution and climate change for increasing the routes of exposure to pathogens in the environment. The successful candidate will also join the teams of two of our current research projects (Plastic Vectors Project and the SPACES Project), which are quantifying human pathogens on the surfaces of plastic pollution and the increased habitat provision provided by plastics in the environment for medically important species of mosquitoes. The successful candidates will work closely with post-doctoral researchers and PhD students to conduct a range of manipulative lab and field experiments in Stirling in highly controlled conditions. The successful candidates will also carry out field work sampling and surveillance at a range of field sites, including coastal waters and sandy beaches, freshwater rivers and lakes, and agronomic field sites.

The successful candidates will become embedded within a thriving research environment in the Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BES), with more than 40 principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers and 60 PhD students.

Description of duties

• Develop microcosm systems to quantify human pathogen persistence in a range of environmental conditions
• Use molecular and culture-dependent approaches to quantify concentrations of human bacterial and fungal pathogens in environmental sample
• Contribute to the intellectual development of research projects, including analysing data
• Participate in project meetings
• Where appropriate, help supervise students working on related research

Essential criteria

• BSc and/or MSc in a relevant discipline, such as, environmental science, biology, microbiology, molecular biology, or ecology
• Experience of using aseptic technique and microbiological techniques Experience in culturing bacteria and/or fungi
• Standard molecular techniques, e.g., DNA extraction and experience with PCR
• Evidence of excellent time management
• Evidence of problem-solving capacity
• Evidence of being able to work with minimal supervision

For further information, including a full description of duties, essential criteria and details on how to apply, please see Vacancy details | University of Stirling

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