Postdoctoral Research Associate

Overview

Queen Mary University of London, in its School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate for a BBSRC-funded programme on how immune and metabolic pathways interact to shape the outcome of infection. Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the project will determine how infection-induced mobilisation of triglycerides influences survival and why males and females respond differently to bacterial infection.

The post holder will lead the imaging and data analysis parts of the project, developing and applying high-resolution confocal microscopy, quantitative image analysis and computational approaches to study host metabolic responses during infection. The role also involves analysing and integrating large biological datasets to build a systems-level picture of infection biology.

Requirements

Candidates should hold a PhD, or be close to completing one, in microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, infection biology, bioinformatics or another relevant biological discipline. Experience of confocal microscopy, fluorescence imaging and quantitative image analysis is needed, along with essential experience analysing large biological datasets such as RNA sequencing, metabolomics, proteomics or whole-genome sequencing data and strong quantitative and computational skills. Use of R, Python or other statistical programming languages is an advantage. Candidates should work independently, communicate and organise well, and have a record of publications and presentations. Experience with Drosophila, infection biology or metabolism is desirable but not essential.

What you get

The post is full time and fixed term, with pay between 38,419 and 46,618 pounds per year. Benefits include a pension scheme, 30 days of leave per year, pro rata for fixed-term posts, a season ticket loan scheme, professional development opportunities and flexible working arrangements. The school holds a departmental Silver Athena SWAN Award.

Key dates

The closing date is 18 October 2026.