Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow

The post
The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) or Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) to support the work of Dr Alex Hayward and Professor Chris Bass. This BBSRC funded post is available from 2nd February 2026, or as soon as possible after this date, for 3 years.

The postholder will be responsible for bioinformatic analyses and the drafting of resulting manuscripts, to investigate links between transposons (mobile genetic elements) and the evolution of insecticide resistance, on the exciting new BBSRC funded project:

‘Are transposons important facilitators of resistance evolution in the major agricultural pest fall armyworm?’

For this, the postholder will investigate the contribution of transposons to resistance evolution in genome sequences of the fall armyworm moth. This will involve research to tease apart the potential role of transposons in host evolution, using methods in transposon detection, annotation and analysis, focussing on available and new high-quality genome sequences, and those arising from a selection experiment performed in collaboration with pharmaceutical company, Bayer AG. The postholder will collaborate closely with staff at Bayer’s Monheim Campus, Germany, and undertake a visit to receive training in selection experiment methods and gain experience of industry.

We also welcome applications from candidates interested in working part-time hours or job-sharing arrangements, and offer flexible working arrangements.

About you
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.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD 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 background in genomics/bioinformatics and be able to perform research on complex genomic datasets using the command line in High Performance Computing cluster environments. This should include abilities in the use of scripting languages such as Python, and the statistical package R.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification for full details of this role, by clicking on the 'apply' button.

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.

Further information
For further information please contact Dr Alex Hayward, e-mail alex.hayward@exeter.ac.uk.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, towards finding a suitable candidate to start from 2nd February 2026, or as soon as a suitable candidate is found after this date.

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