Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow

This new full-time post is immediately available until 30 June 2026 on a fixed-term basis.

The post
The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow to study the biology of pluripotency in the team of Prof Austin Smith. This European Research Council funded post is immediately available to 30 June 2026. Based in the interdisciplinary Living Systems Institute, the successful applicant will join a world-leading programme of investigations into the plasticity of the pluripotency network in different mammals. Applicants should be motivated by fundamental curiosity with a particular interest in early development and/or cell fate decision-making.

Naïve pluripotent stem cells have to date been established only from rodents and primates. Our goal is to design signalling environments for capturing naïve pluripotent stem cells from livestock and other mammals, including marsupials. Approaches will include pluripotency network resetting and somatic cell reprogramming, as well as direct derivations from livestock embryos. This post requires cell culture aptitude, experience with genetic manipulations, and knowledge of developmental signalling.

The posts will involve extensive stem cell culture experimentation including molecular reprogramming, genetic manipulation, signalling pathway manipulation, and targeted chemical and genetic screens. Transcriptomic and multimodal ‘omics analyses will be carried out in partnership with computational/bioinformatics members of the group.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification (available on the university's website, accessed by the 'Apply' button) for full details of this role by clicking on the attachment.

The University of Exeter
We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 200 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024 and QS World University Ranking 2024). We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, achieving a gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework Award 2023, underpinned by gold ratings for Student Experience and Student Outcomes.

Our world-leading research impact has grown more than any other Russell Group university in recent years, and we are home to some of the world’s most influential researchers, seeking to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today. More than 99% of our research is of international quality and 47% is world-leading (2021 Research Excellence Framework).

We encourage proactive engagement with industry, business and community partners to enhance the impact of research and education and improve the employability of our students. Read about our world leading research – Green Futures  and how we are transforming education  for a changing world. We are located in a beautiful part of the country and Exeter (a fast growing tech hub) is one of only a few UK cities to have been designated as a UNESCO Creative City

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

We are committed to ensuring reasonable adjustments  are available for interviews and workplaces.

Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. 

For further information please contact Professor Austin Smith, e-mail [email protected] .