Postdoctoral Research Associate

Postdoctoral Research Associate
This Wellcome funded full-time post is available from 1 August 2026 until 31 July 2028.

The Role
The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate to support the work of Dr. Sandra Catania and Prof. Elaine Bignell.

The successful applicant will contribute to a multidisciplinary research programme investigating how chromatin regulation shapes transcriptional adaptation in Aspergillus fumigatus. The project will focus on understanding how environmental signals, such as pH and host-associated stresses, drive transcriptional reprogramming and how these responses are coordinated at the level of chromatin.

The post forms part of a new five-centre research consortium led by Principle Investigators from the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter (Elaine Bignell and Sandra Catania), the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Chris Tate), the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Clinic (Amelia Barber), the University of Dundee (Susan Wylie) and the Scotland’s Rural College (Fiona Fraser). The over-arching hypothesis for the research programme is that successful adaptation to pH shifts in the natural environment primes opportunistic fungi for infectious growth, reducing barriers to infectivity. Through an innovative combination of evolutionary, molecular, chemical, and structural biology approaches this project will investigate how pH and salinity exposures select for heightened infectivity, particularly in rapidly evolving Aspergillus species.

The researcher will combine genome-wide approaches, including ChIP-seq and RNA-seq, to define transcription factor binding, chromatin states, and gene expression programmes associated with stress adaptation and virulence. The post-holder will contribute to the integration of chromatin, transcriptional, and functional data to define mechanisms of fungal adaptation.

About You
Applicants will possess a PhD in Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, or a related field and be able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes.

Applicant will have Experience with fungal pathogen culture (category 2 at least) and fungal genetics. The applicant will possess a strong interest in chromatin biology and gene regulation, with desirable experience in next-generation sequencing approaches, particularly RNA-seq and/or ChIP-seq, and a willingness to engage with the analysis and interpretation of genome-wide datasets. It will also require experience in adapting and troubleshooting protocols.

Please ensure you read the Job Description and Person Specification (available on the university's website, accessed by the 'Apply' button) for full details of this role.

Further information
Please contact Dr Sandra Catania, s.catania@exeter.ac.uk.

About Us

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How we can help
If you are considering applying and need support to do so, please get in touch with us at hrhelpdesk@exeter.ac.uk. You can request reasonable adjustments within your application or by contacting us. You can also choose to be considered under our Disability Confident Scheme and find out here how this is managed during our recruitment and onboarding process.

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