Research Fellow/Lecturer in Gut Microbiology

Funding has been secured as part of the UK-CGIAR Centre to support two research fellows to develop a new research program on establishing new phenotypes for forage improvement based on rumen function and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Building on a successful proof of principal project, the fellows will, work with Professor Jamie Newbold at SRUC to investigate the application of rumen based phenotyping to forage and crop residue improvement in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia  The project is in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) to implement solutions in country and with the proposed Centre for Livestock and Climate Solutions for Low and Medium Income Countries to engage with regional bodies, national governments, NARES, funders, regional development banks, and other partners to align research and innovation with regional development policies and strategies, validated and contextualized with stakeholders

The project aims to provide the underpinning knowledge to introduce new phenotypes for the improvement of forages and crop residues through plant breeding. To achieve this will use already collected forage and by-product samples to develop and verify high throughput screens to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, animal health and animal productivity in vitro. We will verify these results in animal trials (in Ethiopia) and use these new rumen centred phenotypes to develop a novel index to describe the emissions associated with the plant material, opening the possibility of using GWAS and/or targeted genetic engineering to develop new forages and crop by products.

Roles are based within the gut microbiology laboratory within SRUC and expected to utilize in vitro models to complement the existing large animal strengths with SRUC and our partner organisations together with establishing the associated analytical platforms for microbial characterisation and fermentation product analysis.

Travel to and on occasion work in sub-Saharan Africa is a requirement. You will be expected to contribute significantly to the publication record of SRUC and will have a track record of publishing in refereed journals.

You will develop strong linkages with colleagues within SRUC, ILRI and EIAR and establish linkages into the commercial sector and internationally to drive future funding to establish a long-term research program. You will supervise technical staff, undergraduate and postgraduate students together with interims and visitors to the laboratory. In addition, you may be expected to undertake a limited amount of postgraduate/ undergraduate teaching and to develop new modules in response to demand identified in the SRUC review of teaching.

These are fixed term roles for 2 years.

Minimum qualifications:

BSc / PhD in Agricultural or Biological Science. A teaching qualification and a home office personal licence to work with living animals is desirable.

Minimum experience:

A publication record in the field of animal science/ rumen microbiology along with experience of rumen microbiology, analytical chemistry and knowledge of biological science, animal science and rumen microbiology.

Please read the Job Particulars for full details of these roles.

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