Associate Professor/Professor in Microbial Biofilms

The University of Southampton, in partnership with the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) has an exciting opportunity available for an Associate Professor or Full Professor in Microbial Biofilms.

As part of an ambitious and ongoing plan for strategic growth in Biosciences at the University of Southampton, this role provides an exciting opportunity to shape the life-science agenda at the University of Southampton; a top 100 University in the QS World Rankings.  

The post holder will be a microbiologist with experience in the biology and mechanisms of microbial biofilms as relevant to their structure, function, or interactions within complex microbial communities. 

The role will be affiliated to the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) at Southampton. The ideal candidate will have leadership experience and contribute to enhancing NBIC’s reputation as a leading and internationally recognised centre for biofilm research and innovation.

About the University of Southampton

The University of Southampton is host to one of the largest groupings of biofilm academics in the UK and is unique in its ability to consider biofilms in an integrated way across a range of research areas. These include biological sciences, medicine, chemistry, computational modelling, engineering and ocean science creating impact across diverse fields of application, from medicine to industry to the environment.

The post holder will be based at Southampton's School of Biological Sciences, which tackles the world’s greatest life science challenges, from the treatment and prevention of disease, to climate change. The School's bioscience education, research and enterprise activities are grounded in academic excellence. Find out more about the School of Biological Sciences here.  

You will be joining a friendly, highly collegiate, supportive and collaborative research environment. Our research themes across span microbiology, molecular and precision bioscience, cell and developmental biology, neuroscience, plants and food security, and ecology and evolution, with our research ranked in the UK top 10 for impact (REF2021).    

About the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC)

NBIC is an Innovation Knowledge Centre (IKC) jointly funded by the BBSRC and Innovate UK. By bringing together the UK's strength in biofilm research, and combining it with the expertise of industrialists, NBIC aims to deliver breakthrough technologies that will have an impact on day-to-day lives.

Led by the University of Southampton and the Universities of Liverpool, Nottingham and Edinburgh, NBIC is a consortium of 63 academic partner institutions across the UK – it is the central hub where academia, industry, government and public policy come together to tackle the grand challenges biofilms present. NBIC’s mission is to drive global leadership in biofilm research, training, and innovation by tackling key challenges crucial to the UK’s future prosperity. View NBIC’s 2024 Annual Report here.

A 2023 economic review highlights several significant impacts following the £16m investment from BBSRC and Innovate UK into NBIC between December 2017 and December 2022. The review demonstrates a total impact of approximately £204m across research and innovation that extends throughout the UK economy.

Enquires to Head of School for Biological Sciences, Professor Phil Williamson or to NBIC Co-Director, Professor Jeremy Webb are warmly encouraged.

Please upload your CV and Covering Letter with your application.

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