Postdoctoral Research Officer in Antimicrobial Resistance

Applications are invited for a 2-year full-time Postdoctoral Research Officer to work with Prof Davey Jones (Bangor University) and Prof Rachel McKendry (University College London) on the EPSRC-funded Digital Health Hub for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The position will specifically look at ways to link clinical and environmental AMR data and to investigate effective ways to communicate this information to the wider stakeholder community. It will also seek to integrate this information with other core data streams (e.g., infoveillance, prescribing information) to form part of an integrated One Health AMR surveillance and active management system. The environmental AMR data is being collected as part of the national wastewater-based public health programme but also includes information on the diversity and abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and associated pathogens in rivers, marine waters, sediments, shellfish, wild birds and veterinary reservoirs. The position will also be involved in the design and validation of in-situ devices for on-site ARG testing within different environmental settings.

The Research Officer will work closely with colleagues in other institutions to maximise the delivery and outputs from the programme. The overall aim of the programme is to increase knowledge and skills sharing among diverse groups, from researchers and healthcare workers to those working in animal health and environmental agencies, to policymakers, charities, industry and the public. It seeks to transform surveillance of and action against antimicrobial resistance by harnessing digital technologies that played such a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to bring together researchers working across computer science, data visualisation, biomedical engineering, behavioural science, environmental science, clinical and public health research to tackle the critical issue of AMR.

The Research Officer position will aid in formulating the research direction, the writing of high-quality research papers and also the supervision of Masters-level research projects and PhD students. It will also help develop and implement the use of data approaches for the quantification, visualisation and communication of ARG/AMR loads in a range of settings, bringing these data streams together to better understand the source, fate and risk of ARGs in society. It is expected that the position will contribute very strongly to the writing of journal papers both as first author and as part of the wider research team.

Candidates should have a PhD (or near completion) or equivalent in healthcare science, bioinformatics, data science, environmental microbiology or a related subject, have significant experience in running research projects and producing high quality journal papers. An essential part of the post will be to integrate within the research team within Environment Centre Wales where the post is based.

This role will be located on campus at Bangor. Through our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.

Applications will also be considered to carry out this role on a part-time or job share basis.

The successful candidate will be expected to commence on 1st August 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter and the post is available for a period of 24 months.

Closing date for applications: 30th June 2024

Committed To Equal Opportunities.

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