Postdoctoral Researcher - Rapid Pathogen Detection - Molecular Assay Development (Ref: 027727)

Organisation/Company Atlantic Technological University Department Marine and Freshwater Research Centre Research Field Biological sciences " Biology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 4 Jun 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Dublin) Country Ireland Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 39 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? NextGenerationEU Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Applications Must Be Made Through the ATU website

Rapid detection of pathogenic infections in aquaculture enables effective disease management practices to be implemented. However, current diagnostic methods are largely confined to laboratory settings and rely on labour intensive, time consuming protocols. Reliable point of care devices are currently lacking within the fish health sector, yet such tools would enable rapid responses to infectious agents and greatly improve treatment outcomes. We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join our multidisciplinary team developing novel molecular diagnostics for the rapid detection of viral and bacterial pathogens. This role focuses on the end to end design, optimisation, and validation of pathogen specific Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) assays, including sample to answer workflow development and the integration of these assays into lateral flow diagnostic platforms. The successful candidate will contribute to the full assay development pipeline-from target identification and primer/probe design, through laboratory optimisation and analytical validation, to in field testing and performance evaluation at aquaculture sites. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to next generation point of care tools that will directly support rapid pathogen detection and improved disease management in aquaculture. The successful candidate will be expected to take up the role as soon as possible.

Qualifications

• Minimum of PhD in Molecular Biology / Biotechnology / Microbiology / Biochemistry or related life science discipline or exceptionally equivalent research experience (including industrial R&D).
• Hands on molecular biology proficiency, including nucleic acid extraction/handling and PCR/qPCR and/or isothermal amplification (e.g., RPA, LAMP).
• Primer/probe design and optimisation experience for PCR/qPCR and/or isothermal assays, with evidence of improving specificity, sensitivity (LoD), and robustness.
• In silico assay development competence: use of sequence databases and alignment tools (e.g., BLAST, Clustal Omega, MAFFT) and primer/probe design tools (e.g., Primer3, Primer-BLAST or equivalent).
• Proficient in IT and digital communication platforms. EU defines PhD equivalent 4 years fulltime research after primary degree.

Desirable Qualifications & Skills

• Bioinformatics experience beyond basic alignment (variant analysis, thermodynamic modelling, primer/probe interaction prediction).
• Demonstrated ability to identify conserved regions and evaluate sequence variability (e.g., SNPs, strain diversity) to ensure assay inclusivity (target coverage) and exclusivity (off target avoidance).
• Experience applying primer/probe thermodynamics and secondary structure analysis (e.g., GC%, Tm, ΔG, hairpins, homo/hetero dimer formation, 3 end stability) and performing comprehensive in silico inclusivity/exclusivity and cross reactivity assessments against target panels, near neighbour and host genomes.
• Experience with isothermal amplification assay development, particularly RPA.
• Experience developing point of care or lateral flow molecular assays.
• Experience with assay multiplexing, workflow optimisation and sample prep integration.
• Experience with field testing or validation in applied environments.
• Microbial and/or viral culture experience (BSL 2).
• Experience with grant writing or project coordination.
• Evidence of research activity (publications, conference presentations or awards).
• Capable of generating new ideas and an ability to build upon new ideas to arrive at unique solutions.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills and ability to work in a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Ability to work independently with limited direction.
• High levels of motivation and a pro active attitude to problem solving.
• Excellent organisational, administrative, and analytical skills with a proven ability to work to deadlines.
• Full driving licence.

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Research Field Biological sciences

Additional Information

In accordance with ATU's commitment to equality of opportunity for all job applicants you are asked to request any reasonable accommodation in sufficient time to ensure you can participate fully in the recruitment process. Please contact should you require any assistance.

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