2) POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT, VIRAL
TRANSMISSION AMONG BEES, ROYAL HOLLOWAY
Location: Egham
Salary: £33,476 to £39,528 per annum - including London Allowance
Fixed Term
Closing Date: Thursday 05 November 2015
Interview Date: To be confirmed
Reference: 1015-298
Full time fixed term post for 36 months
Applications are invited for the post of
Post-doctoral Research Assistant in the School of Biological Sciences
Emerging viral diseases pose a major threat to
pollinator health, but we understand little of
their epidemiology, or how this is affected by
agri-environment interventions to support
pollinator populations. This project - a
collaboration between Professor Mark Brown (Royal
Holloway), Dr Lena Wilfert (Exeter), and Dr
Michelle Fountain (East Malling Research) - will
use a combination of approaches to understand how
viral diseases spread in the wild, and what the
mechanisms behind this transmission are. This
position will work to understand how floral
complexity, at the level of individual flowers
and field-scale plantings, determine the
transmission of viral diseases among bees. It
will work in close collaboration with a 2nd PDRA
at the University of Exeter, supervised by Dr Lena Wilfert (see below).
The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in biological
sciences, or equivalent, and have past
post-doctoral experience. They will have worked
with bumblebees or honey bees, and have
experience in behavioural experiments and
molecular ecology techniques. They will have a
record of publishing in high-impact international
peer-reviewed journals, and the ability to
communicate their science to colleagues and the
public. Attention to detail is a must. They must
be able to work well as part of a team, both
within Royal Holloway, and across the collaborative project.
This is a full time post, available from 4th
January 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter
for a fixed term period of 36 months. This post
is based in Egham, Surrey where the College is
situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to
Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London.
For an informal discussion about the post, please
contact Professor Mark Brown on
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] or +44 (0)1784 276443.
To view further details of this post and to apply
please visit
<https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/>https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk
. The RHUL Recruitment Team can be contacted with
queries by email at:
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
or via telephone on: +44 (0)1784 41 4241
Please quote the reference: 1015-298
Closing Date: Midnight, 5th November 2015
Interview Date: To be confirmed
The College is committed to equality and
diversity, and encourages applications from all sections of the community.
We particularly welcome female applicants as they
are under-represented at this level in the School
of Biological Sciences within Royal Holloway, University of London.
----------
3) POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT, DISEASE
TRANSMISSION AMONG POLLINATORS, EXETER
We would like to recruit a Research Fellow
working on a project studying the impact of
agri-environment schemes on emerging diseases in
pollinators. This BBSRC funded post is available
from the 4 of January 2016 for 30 months. The
successful applicant will study disease
transmission dynamics in wild pollinator
communities under different agricultural
management schemes, which are predicted to affect
disease transmission opportunities.
This project is a collaboration between Dr. Lena
Wilfert, Prof. Mark Brown (Royal Holloway
University) and Dr. Michelle Fountain (East
Malling Research) and offers the unique
opportunity to study fundamental questions of
disease ecology and evolution in multi-host
pathogens by combining field-based genetic
analysis with targeted experiments under
controlled environments. By studying insects that
provide crucial pollination services to
agriculture and natural communities, this project
can have direct impact on pollinator health.
Within this grant, there is also the potential to
experimentally test hypothesis derived from
theory or model-based sequence analysis. A second
post-doc is advertised at RHUL, working on the
experimental infection aspects of this research project.
The post will include population genetics,
phylogenetic modelling and bioinformatics as well
as field work and associated lab work focussing
on RNA virus detection. Expert dedicated
technical support is available for field and lab
work. The successful applicant will be able to
develop research objectives, projects and
proposals; identify sources of research funding
and contribute to the process of securing funds
and make presentations at conferences and other events.
Applicants will possess a relevant PhD in a
related field of study. The successful applicant
will have expertise in the fields of
phylodynamics, disease ecology or molecular
ecology. The successful applicant will also be
able to work collaboratively, supervise the work
of others and act as team leader as required.
Applicants should have expertise in population
genetics, phylogenetics and/or bioinformatics.
Ideally, the candidate will have experience in
phylogenetic modelling of viral transmission
and/or molecular ecology of RNA viruses.
Experience in fieldwork and wet lab molecular
ecology and evolution (especially quantitative PCR) would be advantageous.
The position will be based at the University of
Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, with some
fieldwork taking place in Southeast England and
intensive collaboration with colleagues at Royal
Holloway University London and East Malling
Research. You will be able to profit from
state-of-the-art lab and computing facilities.
With the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and
the Environmental Sustainability Institute, this
campus is one of the leading hubs for
evolutionary ecology, including experts in
host-pathogen interactions (e.g. Prof. Angus
Buckling, Prof. Mike Boots, Dr. Camille Bonneaud,
Prof. Robbie MacDonald) and pollination ecology
(Prof. Juliet Osborne, Dr. Frank van Veen). We
also profit from Exeter's Welcome Trust Bioinformatics hub.
For further information please contact Dr. Lena
Wilfert , on e-mail <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
The starting salary will be from GBP 33,242 up to
GBP 35,256 on Grade F, depending on qualifications and experience.
The closing date for completed applications is 09 November 2015.
To view the Job Description and Person
Specification document pleaseclick
here:<http://www.admin.ex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/P50316.pdf>http://www.admin.ex.ac.uk/personnel/jobs/P50316.pdf
.
The University of Exeter is an equal opportunity
employer which is 'Positive about Disabled
People'. Whilst all applicants will be judged on
merit alone, we particularly welcome applications
from groups currently underrepresented in the workforce.
The College is working towards department Silver
Athena SWAN
(<http://www.exeter.ac.uk/working/prospective/benefits/athenaswan/>http://www.exeter.ac.uk/working/prospective/benefits/athenaswan/)
awards as a commitment to providing equality of
opportunity and advancing the representation of
women in STEM/M subjects: science, technology,
engineering, mathematics and medicine.
Dr. Lena Bayer-Wilfert
Senior Lecturer in Molecular Evolution
Centre for Ecology & Conservation
Biosciences, College of Life & Environmental Sciences
University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE UK
Phone: +44 (0) 1326370723
Email: <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
Website:
<http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Lena_Wilfert>http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Lena_Wilfert
