Research Assistant

Contract type: Full time (35 hours per week)

Fixed term (24 months) Start date of March 2024

We are looking for a two-year postgraduate research assistant to provide research assistance and technical support as part of a NERC funded project titled “When does a supershedder become a superspreader?: The impact of individual-level heterogeneities on population-level transmission and spread”. The overall aim of this project is to better understand how variation in parasite shedding and contact rates with other individuals drives transmission, using a wild rodent model system. The position will involve small mammal trapping at our local field sites, analysis of samples for parasitology, immunology and physiology metrics, managing a team of undergraduate research assistants, and day-to-day running of the laboratory. Experience with small mammal trapping and handling, running parasitological analyses, and conducting field work is essential. In addition, the applicant must have excellent time management and organisational skills, good communication skills, and be able to work as part of a collaborative team.  

This two-year post will be undertaken in the lab of Amy Pedersen (pedersen.bio.ed.ac.uk ) in the Institute of Evolution and Ecology at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh. The research assistant will be based at the Kings Buildings, University of Edinburgh, but the project is interdisciplinary, being also supported by Prof. Andy Fenton (University of Liverpool) and Dr. Simon Babayan (University of Glasgow).

This post is advertised as full-time (35 hours per week), with a start date of March 2024. Post is available for 24 months.

The Opportunity:

The successful candidate will work as part of a large, interdisciplinary research team, specifically focused on using a wild mammal system to better understand the drivers of disease transmission. The postgraduate research assistant will be leading the field work and field team, as well as conducting laboratory analyses and managing the day-to-day lab tasks.

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Bachelors degree in Biology, Ecology, Zoology, Parasitology or a closely related field
• Experience in performing small mammal live-trapping
• Experience in performing parasitological analyses
• Animal handling experience
• Ability to work as a part of an active research team