Department Safety and Environmental Sustainability Coordinator
The Department of Genetics is inviting applications for the position of Safety and Environmental Sustainability Coordinator. This is an important role with responsibility for health and safety and environmental sustainability across the Department.
The role holder will be the first point of contact for all safety related matters, overseeing the dissemination of health and safety information, providing technical safety support, advice and training to all staff and students in the Department, developing and updating documentation, guidance and training materials associated with Health and Safety in the Department. As it is critical that our health and safety information is delivered effectively, we are looking for someone with a keen eye for detail and excellent communication skills. You should be confident interacting with a wide range of professional services staff, researchers, academics, students and contractors to ensure that health and safety standards and procedures are followed at all times.
The successful applicant will need to demonstrate experience of managing health and safety in a scientific laboratory setting, including practical experience of managing radiation, liquid nitrogen, lasers and chemicals and the safe disposal of biological waste. An excellent understanding of health and safety regulations and the factual and theoretical principles of health and safety management are required. The roleholder also acts as the Department's Disability Liaison Officer and supports accessibility to our department and facilities.
Another key aspect of the role is to lead on environmental issues within the Department, developing and coordinating the Department's environmental policy and action plan, and implementing change via the Department's Sustainability Committee. An interest in these areas would therefore be beneficial.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.
Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be addressed to Sara Singlehurst, Principal Assistant sjs85@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC47001 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)
Applications are invited for a 6-month Research Assistant/Research Associate position to join an international team in the Department of Genetics in central Cambridge. The project is led by Dr Ben Steventon and is aimed towards understanding how multi-tissue interactions time the development of the early central nervous system. The role will involve performing tissue ablation experiments in the early chick embryo, following by gene expression studies and live imaging.
We are looking for a highly motivated and well-organised person, with a first degree in biological or biomedical sciences and experience in molecular biology.
The project will involve learning and applying cutting-edge live imaging techniques including the quantification of tissue flow and tracking dynamic cell behaviours. Experience in the ex ovo culture and manipulation of the chick embryo is required, along with experience in the generation and analysis of single cell RNAseq datasets. It is also essential that the candidate can demonstrate a high level of organisational ability with experience in data collection and database management. The work will be embedded in a dynamic research group that utilizes a range of biological systems to tackle fundamental problems of early embryonic development.
Specific experience required:
- Experimental embryology of the chick embryo: ES and New Culture, tissue ablation, tissue grafting
- Imaging: Confocal microscopy and spinning disk microscopy
- Single cell RNAseq analysis
A PhD in Developmental Biology is essential for this role. Those who have submitted but not yet received their PhD will be appointed at Research Assistant level, updated to Postdoctoral Research Associate level once their PhD has been awarded. Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 6 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.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Dr Ben Stevention bjs57@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC46833 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 (Fixed Term)
Applications are invited for a Grade 7 Post-Doctoral Research Associate position to join an international team in the Department of Genetics in central Cambridge. The project is led by Dr Ben Steventon and is aimed towards understanding the interplay of ECM, multi-tissue morphogenesis and gene expression during the development of the vertebral column. The project will involve experiments tracking tissue level morphometric changes, cell movements in 3D and ECM remodelling.
We are looking for a highly motivated and well-organised person, with a PhD in Developmental Biology.
Specific experience required:
- Working with early development of zebrafish or chick embryos
- Advanced imaging technologies including confocal and light-sheet microscopy
- Experience with a broad range of light imaging modalities, including but not limited to: confocal, light-sheet and spinning disk microscopy
- Methods to quantify tissue shape changes during development
- Experience researching the role of ECM in the control of tissue morphogenesis
For further details on our research, please visit steventonlab.wordpress.com
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 18 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.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Dr Ben Steventon bjs57@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC46826 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/Associate (Fixed Term)
The Department of Genetics is seeking to appoint a short-term postdoctoral Research Assistant/Associate to start as soon as possible to complete work with Professor Richard Durbin on studies into the genomics of population structure and speciation in the Malawi cichlid genus Labeotropheus.
This post will build on past work in which over 1000 samples of Labeotropheus from multiple species/populations have been collected in Malawi under a joint agreement with the Government of Malawi, with field phenotype data, genomic sequencing data obtained in the UK, and micro-CT scanning data being also collected. Initial analysis suggests recurrent selection of divergent types in multiple locations. The aim of this role is to complete this analysis and prepare a manuscript for submission for publication. The position is available up until the end of 2025.
Where a PhD has yet to be awarded the appointment will initially be made at Research Assistant level (Grade 5) and amended to Research Associate (Grade 7) upon the award of PhD. If a PhD is not held, the appointment will be made at Research Assistant level.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 December 2025 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.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Professor Richard Durbin rd109@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC46745 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 Coordinator (Fixed Term) Internal Applicants Only
The Pathogen Dynamics Unit, located within the Department of Genetics in central Cambridge, is looking to recruit a full-time Research Coordinator to join our growing team of researchers carrying out wet lab and mathematical, computational and field research in the field of infectious disease dynamics.
The Pathogen Dynamics Unit brings together the research groups of Dr Kate Baker, Dr Charlotte Houldcroft and Professor Henrik Salje and uses mathematical, computational, field and laboratory research to help our understanding of how pathogens spread in populations; assessing control efforts and supporting public policy development. The Unit works closely with an established network of collaborators and field-based epidemiologists working across laboratories, hospitals, and public health agencies.
This is a busy and varied role supporting the coordination of research staff and activities across domestic and international projects related to dengue, COVID-19, shigellosis and other infectious diseases. Suitable candidates should be highly organised and able to manage competing priorities under minimal supervision. Experience of conducting wet lab experiments and an understanding of the safety aspects of wet labs, as well as sustainable science initiatives would be an advantage. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, are required for communicating with staff and students at all levels as well as external collaborators. Additional information about the responsibilities of this post can be found in the Further Particulars document below.
Please note, as we are looking to fill the role as soon as possible we require candidates with existing knowledge of our research grants and financial processes, the vacancy is therefore open to internal applicants only.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 12 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.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Professor Henrik Salje hs743@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC46296 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 in Paleogenomics (Fixed Term)
The Durbin Group in the Department of Genetics is seeking a postdoctoral Research Associate with strong expertise in genomic bioinformatics, phylogenetics and ancient sedimentary DNA analysis to lead the analysis of ancient DNA datasets from a range of Arctic and Antarctic sites. These datasets include both sedimentary DNA and mammalian fossil DNA, and have been dated to more than a million years ago. The position is in collaboration with Professor Eske Willerslev, as part of the AEGIS (Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability) joint project with the University of Copenhagen. The role will involve full responsibility for several projects, from initial data processing through to interpretation and publication. You will work closely with an interdisciplinary team of geologists, paleoecologists, and molecular biologists to integrate genomic data with broader environmental and temporal context. This is a unique opportunity to work on globally significant, deep-time datasets in a supportive and collaborative research environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the analysis of ancient DNA datasets from Arctic and Antarctic sedimentary and fossil sources, some dating back over one million years.
- Perform end-to-end genomic data processing, including quality control, assembly, annotation, and downstream bioinformatics analyses.
- Develop and apply statistical and computational methods for analysing paleogenomic data, including sequence evolution modelling.
- Organise and lead field expeditions to collect sediment cores and carry out subsequent subsampling for ancient DNA extraction.
- Coordinate closely with collaborators, including geologists, paleoecologists, and molecular biologists, to integrate genomic findings with environmental and temporal data.
- Take full ownership of assigned projects, driving them from conception through to interpretation and peer-reviewed publication.
- Present findings at internal meetings and international conferences, and contribute to outreach and interdisciplinary discussions.
- Maintain accurate and well-documented workflows, ensuring reproducibility and data integrity.
- Contribute to the development of novel software tools and pipelines tailored to ancient DNA research needs.
- Support a collaborative and inclusive research culture within the Durbin Group and the AEGIS consortium.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 March 2027 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.
For informal enquiries about the role please contact Professor Richard Durbin rd109@cam.ac.uk
Please quote reference PC46200 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.
