Research Assistant in Evolutionary Microbiology

at  University of Oxford

We are seeking a Research Assistant for a project testing the ability of phage to target plasmids associated with antibiotic resistance genes.
Many of the most important antibiotic resistance genes are carried by conjugative plasmids that transfer resistance across strain and species boundaries. Pilus-dependent bacteriophage (PDBs) are viruses that infect bacterial cells via the conjugative pilus, making them a potentially powerful tool to combat antibiotic resistance in bacterial communities.
The postholder will work on experiments to (1) asses the ability of PDBs to infect E.coli carrying a panel of reference plasmids, (2) evolving PDBs to target novel plasmids, and (3) manipulating the genomes of phage and plasmids using retrons. The postholder will work on these experiments in conjunction with a post-doc, and will be fully embedded into the lab group.
This position is suitable for researchers with previous experience in experimental evolution, retron-based genome editing, and qPCR based quantification assays. You will hold a first degree and have the ability to manage your own research and administrative activities. Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write text that can be published, present data at conferences, and represent the research group at meetings.
Please send enquiries with CV to craig.maclean@biology.ox.ac.uk
Where Covid-19 has resulted in substantial disruption to your work or research outputs, please explain this by providing an additional paragraph in your supporting statement.
The University of Oxford is committed to equality and valuing diversity. All applicants will be judged on merit, according to the selection criteria.
This post is full time, available from 1 January 2025 onwards for 2 years.
The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Friday 22 November 2024, interviews are likely to be scheduled for mid-December.
Applications for this vacancy are to be made online via our e-recruitment system, and you will be required to upload a supporting statement and CV as part of your online application

Please refer the Job description for details