Research Scientist

Applications are invited for a Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Mark Webber in the Microbes and Food Safety programme at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB), based in Norwich, UK.

Background:

The post-holder will sit within the Webber group whilst also closely liaising with the Warren and Charles groups at QIB. The Webber group studies bacterial responses to stress with a focus on genetic adaptation and evolution in varied bacterial species.

This project will exploit state of the art facilities for genomics, in particular the TraDIS-Xpress method developed at QIB will make new mutant libraries in Shewanella and other organisms relevant to recovery of metals from contaminated environments.

This post will provide a stimulating, multidisciplinary training environment that will assist the post holder in their successful scientific development.

The role:

The Research Scientist will be required to work on a project developing new approaches to engineer bacteria to transform recovery and processing of important metals. This will be as part of an exciting multi centre project and the post will be able to collaborate with an interdisciplinary team. They will apply transposon mutagenesis to identify how to develop strains with improved characteristics.

The ideal candidate:

Candidates should have a PhD in microbiology or a related discipline. Knowledge of transposon mutagenesis approaches and applied environmental microbiology is essential, as well as previous experience in antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Experience in bioinformatics and running bioinformatic pipelines would be beneficial but is not essential.  Excellent communication and organisational skills, experience in training lab members and the ability to work independently are essential to this role.

Informal enquiries can be made to Professor Mark Webber [email protected]  in the first instance.

Additional information:

Salary on appointment will be within the range £35,300 to £43,750 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post for a contract of 24 months.

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit our website https://jobs.quadram.ac.uk or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or [email protected] quoting reference 1004627.

Interviews will be held on 20 March 2024.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sectors of society.  The Institute supports equality of opportunity within the workplace and expects all employees to share and display these values.  To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

About the Quadram Institute:

The Quadram Institute is a new interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to understanding how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease. Its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. A partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and BBSRC, it brings together scientists and clinicians in a state-of-the-art building on the Norwich Research Park. This is one of Europe’s largest centres of life sciences and home of the John Innes Centre and The Earlham Institute. (https://quadram.ac.uk/ ).

Closing date for applications is the 10 March 2024.

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499)and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.