Research Fellow

1 week ago


Birmingham, United Kingdom University of Birmingham Full time

Contract Type: Fixed Term contract up to August 2028

Closes: 18th July 2024

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within a specific research project funded by ERC advanced grant through UKRI guarantee.

Role Summary

Applicants are invited to apply for a postdoctoral research fellow position (PDRA 3 years) at the School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham to work on a project funded by an ERC advanced grant. The postdoctoral research fellow will be working in a team composed of three PDRA fellows, a research technician and one PhD student under the supervision of Prof. Yin Chen. 

Microbes represent the unseen majority of life on Earth, providing crucial ecosystem services to society such as greenhouse gas mitigation. Methanotrophs are ubiquitous in the environment, being key players in the global carbon cycle and the mitigation of methane release from the environment. Over the last decade, advances in omics have allowed a better understanding methantrophs and their role in greenhouse gas metabolism but our ability to predict how environmental change affects their assembly, structure, stability and function in response to climate change is rather limited. In this project, we bring together a novel combination of theoretical elements and a variety of empirical biology approaches to understand methane oxidation in real-world natural freshwater lakes and how methanotroph activity is regulated.

The successful candidate will 

  • Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids 
  • Operate within area of specialism
  • Analyse and interpret research findings and results 
  • Contribute to generating funding

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

  • Assessing bacteriophages in freshwater lakes 
  • Writing project reports and publications
  • Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
  • Contribute to writing bids for research funding
  • Analyse and interpret data
  • Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
  • Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
  • Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
  • Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods 
  • Undertake management/administration arising from research

Person Specification

  • First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications
  • Strong skills in bacteriophages and associated bioinformatics
  • Strong background on environmental microbiology and virology 
  • High level analytical capability
  • Ability to communicate complex information clearly
  • Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
  • Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively 
  • Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes 

Informal enquiries to Prof Yin Chen, y.chen.22@bham.ac.uk

To download the full job description and details of this position and submit an electronic application online please click on the 'Apply' button above.

Valuing excellence, sustaining investment
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £34,980 to £44,263 with potential progression once in post to £46,974


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