Research Scientist (Soil Metagenomics)

Research Scientist (Soil Metagenomics)

Applications Close: 08 July 2025

Salary: £36,720 to £42,000 per annum depending on qualifications and experience

Contract Length: Full-time post for a contract of 9 months

We’re looking invited for a Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Dr Falk Hildebrand.

This post is part of the NERC project “Identifying novel microbial drivers to mitigate atmospheric methane emission”. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and we aim to reveal the role of ammonia oxidizing Archaea in methane oxidation in the environment. The project will determine how methane affects soil microbial communities, and how specific soil microorganisms respond to methane and metabolise it. The postholder will work with sequencing data derived from cultivated and natural soil microbiomes, to understand the role of prokaryotes (Archaea and Bacteria) in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

The role

The project holder will use metagenomics (similar to doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0386-6, 10.1111/1462-2920.15314, 10.1186/s40168-022-01365-1) to profile both taxonomic and functional compositions of for SIP-enriched metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing and functional-targeted amplicon sequencing data, interpreting experiments conducted in the laboratory of Prof Laura Lehtovirta-Morley. The bioinformatic tools will be developed to analyse and correct these data types, the statistical workflows established to interpret and understand how microorganisms respond to methane in both pristine and laboratory-based soil communities, building on tools available in the Hildebrand group.

Long-term, this work will advance our understanding of biogeochemical cycling, contribute to reducing the impact of climate change by manipulating existing microbial communities, and understanding how healthy soil microbiomes are established, and maintained.

The environment

The Hildebrand group uses metagenomics to research the diversity, community interactions, and evolution of microbes in communities using custom software solutions. The Lehtovirta-Morley group explores environmental microbiomes and biogeochemical cycling using both cultivation-independent and cultivation-dependent experiments. Both groups collaborate closely on microbial archaeal research in soils. The research is situated at the Norwich Research Park (NRP) UK, that encompasses the University of East Anglia, 4 BBSRC Institute, > 15 companies, 3,000 researchers and clinicians, 17,000 students. Norwich ranked in the top 10 for UK cities with a beautiful, historical town centre and an active gastropub & coffee aficionado scene.

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The applicant is expected to help in the supervision of junior group members and to represent the group at trainings. The applicant will have direct access to established PacBio/ONT, Hi-C and single cell sequencing facilities, as well as one of UK’s largest HPC cluster at the Norwich Research Park.

The ideal candidate

The applicant needs to hold a PhD (or equivalent) in biology, bioinformatics, computer science or a related discipline with a background and/or interest in at least one of the following subjects:

Metagenomics & patient cohorts
Ecology & evolution

The ideal candidate will have a keen interest in soil microbiology and biogeochemical cycling, and experience in conducting scientific experiments independently, writing papers, presenting work and grant writing. Basic statistics and programming skills (either R, python, Perl, C++, or equivalent) is expected. Specialized skills will be taught and developed through mentorship and collaborations.

Additional information

Salary on appointment will be within the range £36,720 to £42,000 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post for a contract of 9 months, potentially extensible for a further 9 months.

For further information and details of how to apply, please visit our HR website or contact the Human Resources team on or quoting reference 1004912. This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

Interviews will likely be held around 14 July 2025.

We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from all sectors of society. The Institute values of Respect, Innovation, Collaboration and Excellence are at the heart of all we do, and we expect all employees to share and display these values. To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

About the Quadram Institute

The Quadram Institute is a new interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to understanding how food and microbes interact to promote health and prevent disease. Its mission is to deliver healthier lives through innovation in gut health, microbiology and food. A partnership between Quadram Institute Bioscience, the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and BBSRC, it brings together scientists and clinicians in a state-of-the-art building on the Norwich Research Park. This is one of Europe’s largest centres of life sciences and home of the John Innes Centre and The Earlham Institute.

The closing date for applications will be 8 July 2025.

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499) and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

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