Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
The Department of Plant Sciences is seeking to appoint a post-doctoral Research Associate to investigate how DNA features contribute to gene expression and how these can be used for the predictable design of synthetic constructs for engineering plants. The successful candidate will join the Patron Lab and will work in collaboration with researchers in the Queitsch lab (University of Washington, USA) and the Jores lab (University of Dusseldorf, Germany). Together, we will investigate regulatory sequences and engineer programmable and tuneable gene expression in plants. We will provide a supportive research environment with an emphasis on personal development, research excellence, integrity, and respect. More information about the Patron lab is available at www.patronlab.org.
Role overview The candidate will conduct experiments using bioinformatic, molecular biology and synthetic biology approaches to investigate expression-limiting features of DNA shape, torsional stress, and nucleosome occupancy. They will use this knowledge to develop strategies to engineer expression in plants, seeking to optimise yields from metabolic pathways.
Key skills The successful candidate must have a PhD in molecular or synthetic biology and a thorough understanding of eukaryotic genomes and gene expression. Applicants should be proficient in the design and assembly of synthetic constructs, and in the use of mass spectrometry for the identification and quantification of metabolites. Experience with plants is desirable but not essential.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD44591 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant (Part Time, Fixed Term)
We are recruiting for a Research Assistant based at the OpenPlant Laboratory in Cambridge in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and directed by Prof. Jim Haseloff. The appointee will help develop new approaches to chloroplast transformation in the model liverwort plant Marchantia polymorpha. Work with Marchantia allows streamlined approaches to genome modification, cell dynamics and morphogenetic engineering. The planned work includes use of a collection of synthetic gene elements designed for engineering the Marchantia chloroplast genome. These allow hyper- expression of proteins in transgenic plants, and we are developing hydroponic systems for large-scale, soil-free propagation of plants, and low-cost downstream processing of plant extracts for purification of recombinant proteins at scale. We are looking for a highly motivated appointee to work in this area.
The successful candidate will have a background in plant molecular biology or synthetic biology, including work experience or a degree in a relevant area. Experience with plant culture, DNA manipulation, plant molecular biology or microscopy will be advantageous.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 4 months in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45914 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
A postdoctoral research associate position is available in the Luginbuehl group investigating the regulation of nutrient exchange during the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. This position is funded by the Allan and Gill Gray foundation as well as the ERC Starting Grant "Harnessing mechanisms for plant carbon delivery to symbiotic soil fungi for sustainable food production".
The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis is one of the oldest and most widespread symbioses on Earth. This symbiosis provides significant nutritional benefits to plants, however, it is also associated with a substantial carbon cost, as up to 20% of photosynthesis products are allocated to mycorrhizal fungi. This project will explore the molecular mechanisms that allow plants to regulate carbon transfer to mycorrhizal fungi, and will test whether carbon allocation and thus the cost-benefit balance of the symbiosis can be manipulated by genetic engineering of host plants. The successful candidate will use single-cell transcriptomics approaches (including single-nucleus RNA and ATAC-sequencing), carbon tracing, and targeted mutagenesis in the model crop rice to address these questions.
We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral scientist who is collaborative and excited to work as part of an interdisciplinary and diverse team, has excellent oral and written communication skills, strong organizational and time-management skills, and is eager to develop novel ideas and approaches to investigate research questions in the field of plant-fungal symbioses.
Experience in one or several of the following areas would be an advantage: Characterization of transgenic rice plants (Single-cell) transcriptomics approaches Bioinformatics analyses of large datasets Molecular biology techniques Plant physiology techniques
Start date as soon as possible or upon agreement. The funds for this post are available for 2 years, with a possibility of further extension.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45877 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant (Part Time, Fixed Term)
We are seeking a motivated and skilled research assistant to join our interdisciplinary team working on the development of a novel mathematical model to estimate water table depth in global peatlands. The successful candidate will contribute to the project through advanced image processing of the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite product and the application of linear mixed-effects models and machine learning algorithms. These methods will be merged to support the derivation of an analytical equation for water table depth estimation.
The ideal candidate will have experience in image processing, statistical modelling, and machine learning. Familiarity with field data collection or related environmental sciences is highly desirable. Additionally, experience with API development and basic web design would be advantageous, as the final product will be delivered as an accessible digital tool for farmers and related researchers.
This is a unique opportunity to work at the intersection of data science, environmental modelling, and field research, contributing to a high-impact project aimed at supporting peatland management.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 6 months in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45801 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Laboratory Technician (Fixed Term)
An exciting opportunity is available for a Research Laboratory Technician to join the group of Prof. Jake Harris at the Department of Plant Sciences. The laboratory is situated on the Downing Site in Cambridge and houses state-of-the-art facilities.
The project is part of a pioneering new effort to generate fully synthetic plant chromosomes, funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA, please see here https://www.aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces/programmable-plants/synthetic-plants) for more details). The postholder will support and perform various routine and higher-level molecular biology techniques in the lab, including cloning (PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA purification, restriction reactions, ligation reactions, Gibson assembly, bacterial transformation and culture, plasmid purification, and Sanger sequencing), genotyping (collecting material, genomic DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis), genetic transformations, as well as general plant husbandry and maintenance. The primary model organism is the 'green yeast', Physcomitrium patens, which holds many unique advantages for synthetic biology approaches. There is also scope for development in computational aspects and organisational pipelines. The project is part of an integrated team effort involving academic and biotech laboratories across the UK and Australia.
The successful candidate is not expected to be familiar with all these techniques; however, experience working with Physcomitrium patens or other non-vascular plants is highly beneficial. A willingness to learn and some prior laboratory experience is essential. The postholder will work closely alongside a postdoctoral researcher on the project and within a wider laboratory team setting, so evidence of successful teamwork to achieve well-defined project goals is critically important. The successful candidate will have a degree or equivalent qualification in a relevant subject, strong organisational and time-management skills, a positive attitude, and good team spirit.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45704 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Laboratory Technician (Fixed Term)
We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated research technician to join the Kromdijk and Hibberd labs at the Department of Plant Sciences. The post will specifically focus on development of a new Nested Association Mapping population in the orphan crop and model species for C4 photosynthesis Gynandropsis gynandra.
Short-cycle leafy vegetable crops such as Gynandropsis gynandra (common name Akaya) provide locally available sources of nutrients including vitamins, minerals and protein across Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as an important source of income to households. In the Acquiring Knowledge to Accelerate Yield gain in Akaya (AKAYA) project, we collaborate with colleagues at NIAB (Cambridge), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou (Benin) and Wageningen University (NL) to develop novel genetic and genomic resources to accelerate future crop improvement.
This role will be responsible for advancing the NAM population from the current F1 hybrid stage to immortalized recombinant inbred lines via successive cycles of inbreeding.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 30 September 2027 in the first instance.
Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45521 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
An exciting opportunity is available for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the group of Prof. Jake Harris at the Department of Plant Sciences. The laboratory is situated on the Downing Site in Cambridge and houses state-of-the-art facilities.
The project is part of a pioneering new effort to generate fully synthetic plant chromosomes, funded by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA, please see here for more details). To develop the critical capabilities required, the primary model organism that the candidate will be working with is the so-called 'green yeast', Physcomitrium patens, with potato as the ultimate end-goal for delivery. There are many unique advantages to Physcomitrium for plant synthetic biology, including highly efficient homology-directed repair. The project will involve a range of genomic and molecular biology approaches, from developing epigenetic insulator systems, epigenome profiling and CRISPR-based epi-engineering, to long-read sequencing, karyotyping, and live-cell imaging. The project is part of an integrated team effort involving academic and biotech laboratories across the UK and Australia.
The successful candidate is not expected to be familiar with all of the above techniques; however, experience working with Physcomitrium patens and/or other non-vascular plants is highly beneficial. Familiarity with cloning, genomics, protoplasting, and microscopy-based approaches is strongly advantageous. Evidence of successfully working in a team to achieve objectives against deadlines is highly valuable. The candidate must have strong organisational and time-management skills, a positive attitude, and good team spirit.
Informal enquiries are welcome and should be sent directly to Dr. Harris cjh92@cam.ac.uk.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45509 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
IT Technician
We wish to recruit an enthusiastic and self-motivated IT Technician to join our evolving IT team, providing the Department of Plant Sciences with IT support across multiple sites within Cambridge. The IT Team provision support with teaching, research and administration activities throughout the department, working in line with the Universities' guidance and policies to promote excellent standards and practices. The role will be split between the main Department of Plant Sciences building on Downing Site and the Crop Science Centre in north-west Cambridge. This will be a hands-on role providing first and second line support and therefore requires good communication and relationship-building skills.
The role will be well supported by the IT Service Manager in the department, by the School of Biological Sciences Head of IT, and by colleagues in similar roles in other university departments. A wide range of training and professional career development opportunities are also available and encouraged. If you have the technical skills to help with the delivery of resilient IT services for the department, and the personality and drive to contribute to an outstanding support culture, please do apply - we'll be delighted to hear from you. This role is based within the Department of Plant Sciences, and full-time, on-site presence is expected.
Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45472 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Associate
A postdoctoral position is available in the Henderson group.The role is to perform computational analysis of single read nanopore data for patterns of DNA methylation. The role holder should have excellent competency in relevant programming languages, for example C, Python, or R. Experience with nanopore data is beneficial and will have excellent skills working in teams and communicating complex research projects. The successful candidate should have a degree in a relevant area of bioscience or computer science.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45456 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
The degradation of natural habitats and farmland undermines efforts to keep global warming below 2°C, and to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. International commitments under the Bonn Challenge seek to 'restore' 350 million hectares by 2030, a goal set in response to a scientific report indicating that 300-400 million hectares of forest needed to be restored to avoid dangerous climate change. While restoration promises to slow climate change, reverse biodiversity loss, and recover soils, 21st century restoration science lacks a joined-up understanding of the effectiveness of different tree planting options.
There is a pressing need to move beyond traditional individual project-level assessments of restoration that may fail to detect complex and larger-scale impacts. This project will conduct novel fieldwork and analysis that explicitly investigates biodiversity and carbon outcomes of the most commonly applied restoration techniques (natural regeneration, tree plantations, and on-farm agroforestry approaches) at large spatial scales. This near-continent-scale integrated programme of research uniquely focuses on wooded savanna and montane ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa, where ~90 million hectares of restoration are planned.
This Postdoctoral Research Associate post reports directly to Professor David Edwards (University of Cambridge), with direct input from co-investigator Professor Casey Ryan (University of Edinburgh). It will tackle two main Objectives: (1) Quantify how restoration has impacted biodiversity and carbon storage across space and time; and (2) Identify the environmental and socio-economic drivers of restoration outcomes and effectiveness. In tackling these two objectives, this project will deliver a step change in our understanding of the likely consequences of continental-scale restoration, increasing the prospect of achieving its ecological and societal potential and meeting global climate and development goals.
The Postdoctoral Research Associate will conduct rigorous field sampling of birds across restoration types and spanning several countries including but not limited to Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, and Zambia. They will concurrently collect microclimate data. They will deliver high-quality analyses, including biogeographic multispecies occupancy models developed by Professor Edwards' team to project the biodiversity outcomes of different restoration forms across large spatial scales, and publish their findings in leading scientific journals. They will work with a high degree of independence, as appropriate seeking input from Profs Edwards and Ryan, and the wider network of restoration actors and academic collaborators engaged in this research. They will also become a member of the Centre for Global Wood Security and actively engage in this dynamic, international community.
This is a fixed term position for 2 years with potential for a 2-year extension.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45365 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
We are looking for an enthusiastic postdoctoral Research Assistant / Research Associate to join the Kromdijk lab to study chilling responses in maize. Maize is an important global food, feedstock and bioenergy crop. Maize was domesticated by ancient farmers in Mexico approximately 9000 years ago and is one of the most susceptible crops to chilling stress amongst those grown in temperate regions. As a result, maize yields at higher latitudes are limited by a relatively short growing season and maize is sensitive to yield losses due to early and late season cold snaps. Chilling stress in maize is most common at the start of the growing season, where it leads to poor establishment, which decreases maize ability to efficiently capture light, compete with weeds and take up nitrogen fertilizer. In addition, chilling stress decreases general plant health and enhances susceptibility to plant pathogens. While later planting dates would decrease the prevalence of chilling stress, sustainable farm management increasingly focuses on early harvest (which necessitates early sowing) to allow sufficient growing time for cover crops at the season's end to minimize nitrogen leaching. Altogether, understanding maize chilling stress is clearly important for improving yield security and sustainability of maize cultivation. However, despite decades of research efforts, a full mechanistic understanding of chilling sensitivity in maize is still lacking. Recent work in the Kromdijk group found that root-specific chilling already creates significant damage and downregulation of photosynthesis at mild chilling temperatures at which plants can safely tolerate whole-plant chilling. These results suggest that chilling stress symptoms under field conditions could reflect both maize' poor capacity to cope with low temperature per se, but also with cool temperature of roots relative to shoots. The advertised role will perform experiments to deconvolute the impact and underlying mechanisms of whole plant chilling and root-specific chilling in maize by focusing on the following objectives: 1. Define damage and plant survival under root-chilling and whole-plant chilling treatments. 2. Combine maize grafting with a reverse genetic approach to determine: a) the role of abscisic acid (ABA) synthesis and perception. b) the role of photoinhibition in chilling stress.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45325 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Broodbank Fellow (Fixed Term)
Purpose of the role
The purpose of this role is to support and maintain the University's national and international reputation for excellence in teaching and research. Contribution to excellence in research will be as a member of a research team within the School of Biological Sciences, carrying out research at a similar level to that undertaken by lecturing staff and will provide substantial scope for academic judgement, originality, interpretation and presentation of results. The role holder may also assist with grant administration and the writing of reports for funding bodies. The role holder will participate and add to the overall achievement of the Institute.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3 years in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45249 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant (Fixed Term)
A research assistant position is available in the Luginbuehl group funded by the ERC Starting Grant "Harnessing mechanisms for plant carbon delivery to symbiotic soil fungi for sustainable food production". This project explores carbon transfer in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis with the aim to optimize symbiotic nutrient exchange in the model crop rice. The post is available at 50% for two years in the first instance, with the possibility of further extension.
The successful candidate will work closely with other members of the team. The candidate will generate stable transformants of rice and other plant species and will be involved in plant management and maintenance as well as molecular biology experiments.
Preferred start date: 1st April 2025.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 2 years in the first instance.
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Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45058 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
Research Assistant / Research Associate (Fixed Term)
Remote sensing of fire effects on soil organic carbon
Wildfire occurrence and severity are known to be influenced by ecosystem hydrology, with peatland fires depending on soil moisture. Recent work has demonstrated the large impact of wildfires on soil drying, which can have implications for further wildfires and long-term carbon fluxes from peatlands.
This postdoctoral research associate post will use remote sensing data to assess wildfire occurrence, severity and ecosystem recovery, combined with remote sensing of soil moisture and plant water content.
The post will initially be for 9 months with the possibility of a 15-month extension. It will be based in Cambridge but allow for travel to Stanford University in California to collaborate with other researchers, Prof. Alexandra Konings, and spend time with Adam Pellegrini's Stanford-based lab. Collaborations at Cambridge will include Prof. David Edwards.
Skills required: extensive Python/R experience evaluating remote sensing datasets at the global scale. Familiarity with MODIS, SMAP, VOD and other products evaluating ecosystem water content and wildfires. Familiarity with peatland distribution maps and carbon fluxes.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 9 months in the first instance.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Please notice that if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has not been successful.
Please quote reference PD45057 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
