Early-Stage Researcher

Job Status: Fixed Term Contract for 3 years
Location: Institute of Biomedical Research
Salary: Fixed salary of £41,313.00 additional allowances may be applicable depending on circumstances

We are seeking an applicant for a fully funded HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN PhD studentship in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham, in the group of Dr Csilla Várnai in the area of chromatin topology in tissue regeneration. This position is led by Dr Várnai at the University of Birmingham (UK).  Dr Várnai’s research focusses on computational method development to understand the role of chromatin topology in gene regulation and disease. 

The aim of this position is to understand the role of chromatin topology in gene transcription regulation in the context of the regeneration of injured telencephalon in adult zebrafish. During the project, you will have the opportunity to learn the chromosome conformation capture technology (Hi-C) and the computational analysis of Hi-C data, as well as data integration with other ‘omics methods including from single-cell experiments. You will also have the opportunity to learn comparative analysis of chromatin topology between zebrafish and mouse, to study the conservation of chromatin topology around genes implicated in tissue regeneration.

Main Duties:

• Develop research objectives for research into the characterisation of chromatin topology in telencephalon injury and regeneration and its evolutionary conservation, carried out with the assistance of a supervisor/mentor.
• Collect research data (depending on expertise in experimental molecular biology)
• Analyse and interpret data
• Develop or adapt techniques, models and methods
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding of genome topology.
• Interact with other members of the DANIO-ReCODE consortium and fulfil the responsibilities associated with the studentship, such as attending consortium meetings, training activities and international secondments to partner organisations.

Skills and Knowledge:

• A first degree in a relevant field (biological, biomedical, natural sciences, mathematics or computer science), and a MSc degree or equivalent experience in Bioinformatics, Mathematics, Statistics or Computer Science.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a research team.
• High level analytical capability and an inquisitive mind.
• Programming experience with demonstrated good programming practice (maintaining code repositories, version control).
• Experience working with complex datasets.
• Experience working with next generation sequencing data is desirable,
• A willingness to travel to other research organisations for the secondments is essential,

The eligibility criteria for the studentship are:

• At the time of first recruitment by the host organisation, the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host organisation for more than twelve months in the three years immediately before the reference date.
• The candidate must not hold a PhD degree at the time of recruitment.

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

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We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.

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