School of Life Sciences: There has never been a more exciting time to study the science of biology, whether your interest is in human, animal or plant life. As one of the University’s largest departments, we’re renowned for our high levels of student satisfaction on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
We address problems ranging from how to exploit enzymes as new industrial catalysts and how they evolve to drive antibiotic resistance, to use microbes as agents to clean up pollution and keep us healthy, to stop cancer cells forming. We are working to develop better crops to feed us, understand the effects of climate change on ecosystems from the tropics to the arctic and how modern life affects the workings of the human genome.
Like our students, our staff are passionate about science and have travelled from all over the world to be at Essex. Our founding principle of research-led teaching is central to our ethos, giving you the opportunity to develop an enquiring research mind set while you gain practical laboratory skills and field techniques in our first class facilities
The School is now looking to appoint a Senior Research Officer. This is an exciting opportunity to join a project funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences to investigate airborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in healthcare. The project is directed by Dr Robert Ferguson at the University of Essex, and will focus on using molecular methods to characterise AMR bioaerosols (airborne bacteria and fungi).
Duties of the post:
The researcher in this post will lead a research project assessing fish health and pollution exposure histories by measuring chemical tracers (e.g. contaminants, hormones) in fish tissues and archival structures such as eye lenses, otoliths and scales. Responsibilities include day-to-day data and lab management, method development, data analysis and publication writing, fieldwork/sample collections, maintaining relationships with project partners, and public outreach.
You will undertake or manage practical elements of research such as setting up and conducting experiments, developing questionnaires and conducting fieldwork, recording data and identifying trends or patterns and engage in individual and/or collaborative research activity resulting in internationally excellent publications that is in keeping with Research Excellence Framework (REF) criteria.
A full list of duties can be found within the job pack attached below.
Skills and qualifications required
The successful candidate will hold a relevant doctoral level degree inenvironmental science/chemistry/ biology, or equivalent professional experience or practice.
At the University of Essex, internationalism and diversity is central to who we are and what we do. We are committed to being a cosmopolitan, internationally oriented university that is welcoming to staff and students from all countries, faiths and backgrounds, where you can find the world in one place.
To support this commitment we have our Global Forum, a staff-led network that promotes and celebrates the rich cultural diversity among Essex staff, and our Colchester campus based Faith Centre, which hosts regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representatives.
Please see the attached job pack, which contains a full job description and person specification which outlines the full duties, skills, qualifications and experience needed for this role plus more information relating to the post. We recommend you read this information carefully before making an application. Applications should be made on-line, but if you would like advice or help in making an application, or need information in a different format, please contact resourcing@essex.ac.uk
Attachments: REQ07199 Jobpack.pdf
Job title; Senior Research Officer, Life Sciences
Job reference; REQ07199
Application closing date; 03/04/2023
Location; Colchester
Salary; £35,333 per annum
Employment type; Fixed-term, Full-time
Job category/type; Research