Life at Earlham Institute
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Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Falk Hildebrand and Christopher Quince in the Research Faculty of the Earlham Institute, based in Norwich, UK.
Background:
This post is part of the OpenCLIM_LANDS project, that aims at providing the insights needed to put the UK on a path to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, achieved through climate resilient soil health, food security, and biodiversity net gain.
In this multi-centre project, we will combine climate forecasting with latest advances in soil science to enable a unique microbial perspective into land use & climate scenarios.
The role:
In this post, we will address the following questions:
- How do soil microbes establish, contribute and maintain healthy, biodiverse macro- & micro-communities, and how are these impacted by different land use scenarios?
- How can we use machine learning to predict soil microbiomes from either pristine or agriculturally used soils, predict their functional capacity (e.g. carbon storage)?
- What practices can help microbial soil communities recover?
To answer these and more questions the OpenCLIM_LANDS multi-centre project was established.
The project holder will use metagenomics (similar to doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0386-6, 10.1111/1462-2920.15314) to profile both taxonomic and functional compositions of >3,000 newly sequenced soil sites.
Using machine learning we will build comprehensive profiles of typically expected microbial profiles across soil sites (similar to doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.05.024) and their relation to soil health and carbon storage.
Using a combination of robotics and third-generation sequencing, we will use predictive microbial modelling to improve the land use in existing agricultural sites.
Long-term, this work will enable microbially-informed agriculture, combating the impact of climate change and understanding how healthy soil microbiomes are established & 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 Quince group explores environmental and host-associated microbiomes using statistics and machine learning.
Both groups are situated at the Norwich Research Park (NRP) UK, that integrates the 4 BBSRC Institutes, University of East Anglia (UEA), one of UK’s largest HPC clusters, > 15 companies, 3,000 researchers and clinicians, and 17,000 students. Norwich ranked in the top 10 of UK cities with a historical town centre and an active food & coffee aficionado scene.
OpenCLIM_LANDS is a multi-centre UK collaboration between Earlham Institute and Quadram Institute, UEA, University of Leeds, Newcastle University, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, among others.
The applicant will meet consortium members on regularly scheduled meetings and interact closely with collaborators in truly multi-disciplinary environmental research.
The ideal candidate:
The applicant needs to hold a PhD (or equivalent) in bioinformatics, biology, computer science or a related discipline with a background and/or keen interest in the following subjects:
- Metagenomics, microbiomes & bioinformatics
- Soil science, environmental biodiversity & ecology
The ideal candidate will have 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.
Specialised skills will be taught and developed through mentorship and collaborations. The applicant is expected to help in the supervision of junior group members and to represent the group at trainings.
Additional information:
Salary on appointment will be within the range £37,500 - £42,000 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post until a funding end date of July 2027. There is potential for extension depending on funding availability.
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.
As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.
The closing date for applications will be 19 September 2025.
