Postdoctoral Research Associate

The post

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to support the work of Prof Mario Recker. This Wellcome Trust funded post is available from 01/01/2026 to 31/12/2029. The successful applicant will support a multi-institutional team of computational biologists, immunologists and microbiologists to fully characterise the role of, and the interactions between, bacteria genotype and phenotype and the host immune response in determining the outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. 

The post will entail the management of large, high-dimensional datasets that will be generated throughout the lifetime of this project from a range of high-throughput essays. In addition to organizing, curating, and integrating diverse datasets, the successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to their subsequent analyses and development of robust statistical and computational pipelines to advance our understanding of host–microbe interactions and to enable timely predictions of infections outcomes within clinical settings.

About you

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD (or nearing completion) or possess an equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.

Applicants will have a strong background in managing and working with complex, high-dimensional datasets, ideally in the life sciences, and should be comfortable using open-source data management and analysis tools (e.g., R, Python, SQL, or similar) to organize, curate, and explore large-scale experimental data using a variety of data scientific approaches. Experience with or a strong interest in high-throughput geno-/phenotyping datasets and motivation to support robust, reproducible, and transparent data workflows are highly desirable.

The successful applicant will be able to present information on research progress and outcomes, communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically and prepare proposals and applications to external bodies. Strong communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with experimentalists, bioinformaticians, and other team members.

The successful applicant will be highly self-motivated, be able to work independently, will have a keen interest in acquiring new skills and knowledge, and be able to work and communicate effectively as part of a cross-disciplinary, multi-national team.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role.

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research;
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), Paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Cornwall

The University of Exeter

The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity employer. We are officially recognised as a Disability Confident employer and an Athena Swan accredited institution. Whilst all applicants will be judged on merit alone, we particularly welcome applications from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce. 

We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and welcome applications from service people.

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