Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Ancient Sedimentary DNA

Location: Whiteknights Campus

Job details

Contractual hours: 35

Job category/type: Academic and Research

Job description

Fixed term (24 months)

The closing date for applications is 23:59 on 15th May 2026

Interviews will be held: 28th May 2026

By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Medieval Green Revolution project, funded by the European Research Council (MEDGREENREV), which is investigating the relationship between environmental and cultural transformations during the medieval period in the Western Mediterranean. Alongside the University of Reading, the project consortium is led by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Granada and the University of York, in partnership with UCL, the University of Basel, the University of Valencia and University of Murcia.

We are seeking a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Associate to join our research team at Reading, focusing on sedimentary aDNA (sedaDNA / environmental DNA) from soils and archaeological sediments from the project’s case study regions in Spain and North Africa. You will contribute to the reconstruction of past landscapes and human-environment interactions through the analysis of sedimentary DNA. This includes analysing samples from terraces, irrigated fields and archaeological sites, with the aim of characterising changing plant and animal species diversity and richness over time. Expertise in degraded/ancient DNA laboratory work and experience of aDNA bioinformatics, especially bioinformatic pipelines for degraded metagenomic data is essential, alongside awareness of archaeological sediments and their complexities.

The position will involve laboratory work in a dedicated aDNA laboratory (NHM) and data analysis, with the possibility for fieldwork to take extra samples where required, and collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, palaeoecologists and historians. This is a joint post with the University of Reading (UoR) and the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London and is funded for two years.

You will be supported in your own career development while also contributing to the development of the unique partnership between the UoR and the NHM. In particular, you will contribute to the building of innovative research in archaeological science within the Department of Archaeology at the UoR, working in close collaboration with the NHM where the DNA analysis will be carried out.

The starting time for the post is flexible.

You will have:

• A PhD in a relevant area of archaeology or biology, with a speciality in aDNA
• Specialist knowledge in ancient/historical DNA and/or ancient/degraded environmental DNA laboratory methods for next generation sequencing
• Previous research involving degraded environmental DNA bioinformatics and analysing metagenomic datasets
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Track record of research of at least national standing, built on high quality research outputs and appropriate for career stage
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Ability to show initiative and work independently, as well as part of a team

Contact Name: Aleks Pluskowski

Contact Job Title: Reading PI of Medgreenrev

Contact Email address: a.g.pluskowski@reading.ac.uk

Alternative Contact Name: Selina Brace

Alternative Contact Job Title: Director of aDNA laboratory at the NHM

Alternative Contact Email address: s.brace@nhm.ac.uk

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