Research Fellow (106549)

About the Role

Full time, fixed-term contract ending 14 May 2027. 

An extension beyond this date, up to a maximum of 7 months, is subject to sufficient budget and approval from the funder. 

Project details:

Plant architecture is critical for reproductive success and thus has been subject to strong domestication selection in cereal crops over Millenia. Plant architecture is determined post-embryonically and underpinned by the activity of pluripotent stem cells present in meristems, such as the shoot apical and axillary meristems (AM). The production of tillers, or secondary shoots, by AM varies widely between the grasses, and impacts on yield; most domesticated species having significantly reduced or eliminated AM growth altogether compared to their wild relatives. To date, the mechanisms underlying AM initiation and regulation in grasses remain elusive despite being an important agronomical question; this knowledge could unlock greater yield potential in domesticated crops.

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the job description (link here).

About You

We have uncovered a new transcriptional pathway that is sufficient to induce axillary meristem formation in bread wheat, rice and likely other grasses. Based on these exciting findings, we propose to use wheat as our model system to:

• Fully elucidate this pathway by identifying upstream components and key regulatory factors, using a range of computational, transcriptomic, and molecular genetic approaches.
• Understand how this pathway is activated and regulated in axils to direct changes in the above-ground architecture of cereals using epigenetic and state-of-the-art phenomics approaches.

Collectively, this work will provide a fundamental understanding of how plant architecture is regulated and can be manipulated to create novel strategies and tools to protect and enhance yield in agronomically important cereals.

We are looking for someone with expertise in plant biology, genetics and genomics, bioinformatics and molecular biology, but we also welcome applications from people with general molecular biology skills in other organisms.

If you have not yet been awarded your PhD but are near submission or have recently submitted your PhD, any offers of employment will be made as Research Assistant at the top of level 5 within the University grade structure. Upon successful award of your PhD and evidence of this fact, you will be promoted to Research Fellow on the first point of the level 6 of the University grade structure, unless exceptional experience applies to warrant a higher salary.

For more information and to apply online, please click on the 'Apply' button above.

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