Research Associate in Pathogen Surveillance (fixed-term)

Salary

The salary range for Research Assistant is £30,505 to £36,924 per annum.

The salary range for Research Associate is £37,999 to £45,163 per annum.

About the role

The Centre of Excellence in Water Based Early Warning Systems for Health Protection is working to transform public & environmental health management, establishing the first Urban Living Lab facility; a state-of-the-art digital water sensing platform, training base and ideas hub. The centre combines sensing, mathematical modelling, data analytics and informatics with epidemiology and public engagement tools to provide low-cost and real-time community-wide testing of population health and the environment.

Applications are invited for a Research Associate position to develop methods to survey pathogens in wastewater, and other environmental water sources, using molecular techniques, including genomics. Projects could focus on capturing a broad range of viral, bacterial & fungal pathogens, or more high-resolution approaches on focal taxa. We aim to expand established methods for routine monitoring to include source attribution and the detection of rare or emerging pathogens including polio and mpox, or antimicrobial resistance genes. Techniques can include (but are not limited to) genomic metagenomics, probe capture enrichment and dPCR. A synthesis of these molecular with chemical & sensor data being generated by other members of the centre would be particularly desirable.

About you

Our ideal candidate will have:

• Experience in working with water samples & experience in bioinformatics.
• a PhD (or equivalent) in pathogen genomics or a related discipline
• excellent communication skills
• potential to publish in high quality journals
• demonstrated awareness of latest developments in this field of research

The successful candidate will work very closely with other Research Associates, academic leads, technical specialists (water, mass spectrometry & data engineer) and PhD students in the Centre to deliver a unique water-based early warning system for (infectious) disease diagnostics.

Further information

What we can offer you:

• a very generous employer contributory pension scheme
• generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• we are a family-friendly University and with an increasingly agile workforce, are open to flexible working arrangements
• an excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• a wide range of personal and professional development opportunities
• a number of support options available for new and existing staff to help with the cost of some immigration expenses which you may be eligible for: Relocation allowance, Visa Reimbursement, Interest-Free Loan.

Find out more about our benefits.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award.

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