Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Exeter

The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Associate depending on qualifications and experience. The successful applicant will work in the group of Prof Stefano Pagliara and will participate in the project DYNBIOTICS. The overarching aim of this project is to understand the dynamics of antibiotics transport in individual bacteria in order to tackle antimicrobial resistance that causes a yearly death toll of 5 million people.

This project is funded by the UKRI via the Frontier Research Guarantee scheme that is the UK equivalent of an ERC Consolidator Award.

This post is available from the 8^th of January 2024 (or shortly thereafter) on a three-year fixed-term contract.

The successful applicant will have extensive expertise in molecular microbiology and bioinformatics.

During this project, the successful candidate will discover the biophysical processes and molecular mechanisms that permit individual bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment and will identify novel therapies that eradicate drug-resistant bacteria.

The successful applicant will carry out testing of existing and new antimicrobial compounds against ESKAPE pathogens using novel microbiology assays, generate transposon mutant libraries, perform genome-wide transcriptional and translational profiling and recapitulate findings in vivo using the Galleria mellonella infection model.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, write high impact publications, present their work at international conferences and contribute to the process of securing funding.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification in molecular microbiology. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in molecular microbiology and bioinformatics and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research 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 be able to perform microbiology assays using ESKAPE pathogens or other pathogenic bacteria, perform RNA, DNA and protein extraction and analysis, generate mutant libraries and ideally have previous experience in working with simple infection models such as Galleria mellonella.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

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.

With over 30,000 students and 7,000 staff from 150 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 and Project Juno for Physics), race equality (Race Equality Charter Mark), LGBTQ+ inclusion (Stonewall Diversity Champion) and as a Disability Confident employer.

For further information please contact Dr Stefano Pagliara:
e-mail s.pagliara@exeter.ac.uk or telephone (01392) 723171.