Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

This full time, Medical Research Council and European Research Council funded post is available immediately on a fixed term basis until 30 April 2027.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

We welcome applications from candidates interested in working part-time hours or job-sharing arrangements.

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to lead a programme of computational modelling and ‘omics analysis of regulatory network dynamics in pluripotent stem cells and during synthetic embryogenesis. This Medical Research Council and European Research Council funded post in the group of Professor Austin Smith is available immediately. The role holder will develop a programme of computational and bioinformatics analyses to delineate developmental trajectories, infer gene regulatory networks and dynamics, and model cell fate transition paths.

You will work primarily with single cell NGS data from stem cell differentiation time courses and perturbation studies, from natural embryos, and from synthetic embryoids. Studies will include comparative analyses between human, non-human primates and other mammals, using stem cells and embryos. You will create and implement algorithms, analysis methods and visualisation tools for interrogation of transcriptome and multimodal ‘omics datasets. You will create mathematical and/or computational models of the pluripotency gene regulatory network and of cell fate transitions that can inform experimental investigation.

You will have the opportunity to supervise project students. In addition to your own research, you will advise and support wet lab researchers in the group.

Prior knowledge in stem cell or developmental biology is not necessary, but experience in working closely with experimental researchers is essential.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in mathematical biology, systems biology or bioinformatics. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required. Applicants will have research expertise in high-throughput data analysis with competence in a UNIX/Linux environment and programming/scripting language. You will have experience in next generation sequencing pipelines, including transcriptomics, chromatin accessibility and single cell analyses. You should have a general understanding of molecular cell biology and be able to work in productive partnerships with experimental researchers. Specific knowledge of stem cell or developmental biology is not required, but you will have experience with biological data and be motivated to analyse and model biological processes.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research;
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career

• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon.  

The University of Exeter

We are a member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities and in the top 150 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022 and QS World University Ranking 2022).  

Our research income in recent years means we’re the fastest growing UK Research University with some of the world’s most influential scientists, and we seek to answer some of the most fundamental issues facing humankind today through this. More than 99% of our research is of international quality and our world-leading research impact is growing faster than any other Russell Group university (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

With over 27,000 students and 6,400 staff from 180 different countries we offer a diverse and engaging environment where our diversity is celebrated and valued as a major strength. We are committed to creating an inclusive culture where all members of our community are supported to thrive; where diverse voices are heard through our engagement with evidence-based charter frameworks for gender (Athena SWAN), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented within our working community. Reasonable adjustments are available for interviews and workplaces.

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