Research Associate in Environmental Microbiome Modelling

at  The University of Manchester

Working within Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences) under the supervision of Professor Sophie Nixon, the post is funded by the BBSRC strategic Longer and Larger grant “Rules of life in CO2-driven microbial communities: Microbiome engineering for a Net Zero future”.
This project is led by Professor Sophie Nixon at the University of Manchester, in collaboration with the Earlham Institute. In this project we are interrogating the rules that govern microbiomes that inhabit terrestrial hot springs.
The long-held tradition of studying microorganisms in isolation has, until recently, obscured the fact that microbial life exists as interdependent multi-species assemblages. Despite the profound impact microbial communities have on their environment and the technological advances in microbial genomics in recent years, the rules that govern the structure, function and stability of microbial communities are complex and only partially understood. Although a plethora of mechanisms that influence microbial communities have been identified, from metabolic priming, to inter- and intraspecific metabolic signalling and even direct antibiosis, holistic understanding has yet to be achieved in any microbial system. In this project we will develop a novel experimental system that is complex yet tractable, enabling rich, coordinated multi-omics analysis coupled with computational modelling to deliver deep mechanistic insight. We will apply a cutting-edge toolbox of experimental, analytical, and computational approaches to reveal the rules of life in this system that will serve as a blueprint to apply to any microbiome.
You will be responsible for successfully conducting a computational work package focusing on the design and implementation of multi-species metabolic models. You will develop genome-resolved metabolic models from multi-omics (especially metagenomic) data to make mechanism-based predictions about the functional response of bacterial communities to environmental variation, changes in species composition and experimental intervention, and use these predictions to develop testable hypotheses about the rules of life determining community function and composition. You will work closely with other postdocs and PhD students in this project, who will be applying complementary approaches (including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) and generating the data you will use to create and validate the multi-species metabolic models.
What can you expect in return
The University will actively foster a culture of inclusion and diversity and will seek to achieve true equality of opportunity for all members of its community.

What you will get in return:

• Fantastic market leading Pension scheme
• Excellent employee health and wellbeing services including an Employee Assistance Programme
• Exceptional starting annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays
• Additional paid closure over the Christmas period
• Local and national discounts at a range of major retailers

As an equal opportunities employer we welcome applicants from all sections of the community regardless of age, sex, gender (or gender identity), ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and transgender status. All appointments are made on merit.
Our University is positive about flexible working you can find out more here
Hybrid working arrangements may be considered.
Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.
Any recruitment enquiries from recruitment agencies should be directed to People.Recruitment@manchester.ac.uk.
Any CV’s submitted by a recruitment agency will be considered a gift.

Please refer the Job description for details