Postdoctoral Research Officer in Amphibian Host-Microbiome Interactions

Overview

Postdoctoral Research Officer in Amphibian Host-Microbiome Interactions. Fixed-term, full-time, 36 months. Based in the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University, with potential for some remote working under the Dynamic Working framework and part-time or job-share arrangements. Applications via the online recruitment website; contact for accessibility issues or paper submissions as needed.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Generation and analysis of data. Prepare and process DNA samples from amphibian skin and bacterial isolates; generate and analyze 16S metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomic datasets; perform bacterial genome sequencing; analyse microbial community composition and function; study bacterial colonisation and host-specificity; integrate microbiome data with data from the wider project team.
• To work as part of the research team in delivering research outcomes. Disseminate research outputs through journal articles, reports, conferences, project workshops and other appropriate channels; collaborate with co-researchers to write results; provide progress updates to the project team; contribute to knowledge exchange with academic and non-academic stakeholders; maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant literature.
• Assist and support in the administration of the research project. Arrange and participate in project meetings; coordinate sample and data transfer, deposit data and code in repositories; liaise with internal and external partners; contribute to project updates; help ensure the project meets its aims and objectives.
• Monitoring of financial controls associated with the research project. Contribute to planning and monitoring of sequencing, consumables, travel and equipment needs; enter data and prepare reports to monitor project finance; assist in preparing proposals for funding.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Masters and PhD students; contribute to project workshops and knowledge exchange visits; undertake research visits to partner laboratories where appropriate; attend conferences; participate in School, College and research group activities.
• Participate in performance review and development activities; comply with University equality policies and safety policies; contribute to a safe and healthy working environment for all staff, students and visitors; comply with relevant health, safety, legal and financial policies and procedures.

Person Specification

Qualifications/Training

• A PhD (or near completion) in molecular ecology, microbial ecology, disease biology, bioinformatics, genomics or a related discipline.
• Previous postdoctoral experience in a related area.

Experience/Knowledge

• Background in microbial ecology, disease biology, host-microbe interactions, or genomics.
• Experience in basic molecular biology techniques and high-throughput sequencing.
• Expertise in computational analysis and coding for large sequencing datasets.
• Experience in host-microbiome interactions and integration of multi-omics data; knowledge of amphibian disease biology.
• Proven track record of high-quality publications and conference presentations.

Skills/Abilities

• Strong verbal and written communication skills in English.
• Analytical skills; ability to analyse numerical data and present results.
• Ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines; good interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• Willingness to travel to partner institutions in the US and Panama; good computer skills (MS Office, PowerPoint, Excel or equivalents).
• Welsh language ability is desirable; opportunities to learn are available.