Senior Research Associate in Bacterial Genomics

The role

We are looking to recruit a Senior Research Associate to work on projects in bacterial genomics and metagenomics. This post is funded by a NIHR Healthcare Protection Research Unit in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Oxford. We are particularly interested in understanding the role that the hospital environment plays in spreading challenging Gram-negative infections, particularly those resistant to antibiotics, through two projects: understanding the hospital sink microbiome and detecting novel pathogens in wastewater.

What will you be doing?

You will use bioinformatics tools and develop pipelines to analyse large genomic and metagenomic datasets, with the aim of producing original research that contributes to our understanding of the spread of antibiotic resistance (ABR). Project 1: you will analyse hundreds of metagenomes from hospital sinks already sequenced as part of the SinkBug study; to begin with, you will look for signatures of phage and bacterial defence systems and correlate these with the presence of ABR genes/plasmids. You will then test the potential of metagenomic surveillance to identify high-risk bacterial lineages/plasmids using state-of-the-art strain-resolution approaches. Project 2: you will evaluate approaches to detect novel pathogens in wastewater metagenomes (e.g. SARS-CoV-2) using both existing and simulated datasets. As this is part of a large consortium where our research will evolve over time, other projects may develop using other datasets we and partners hold. You will be able to help supervise undergraduate and graduate project students. You will take part in regular consortium meetings and write reports and papers to communicate your findings.

You should apply if

• You have (or will soon be awarded) a PhD in bacterial genomics/bioinformatics or a related computational subject and would ideally have experience working with Gram-negative bacterial genomes and/or metagenomes.
• You will have a demonstrable interest in antibiotic resistance, bacterial evolution and public health.
• You will have experience of working independently, developing analysis pipelines and writing papers.
• You will have published research and have experience presenting your research to colleagues, the wider research community and the public.

Exceptional candidates with strong computational expertise outside bacterial genomics are welcome to apply if they are looking to transition into the field and can demonstrate their interest.

Additional information

For informal queries about the role please contact: Matthew Avison, matthewb.Avison@bristol.ac.uk

Contract type: Open Ended with Fixed Funding until 31/03/2029

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Sunday 14th September 2025

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