Research Assistant

We are seeking to appoint a Research Assistant to investigate enteric pathogens, with a particular focus on Campylobacter jejuni, one of the leading bacterial causes of human gastroenteritis globally. This post aims to apply integrated multi-omic approaches to characterise the interactions between enteric pathogens, the intestinal microbiota and the host (particularly avian biology). Using genomic, metagenomic, and metabolomic analyses, the successful candidate will investigate the microbial and functional mechanisms that underpin bacterial colonisation, persistence and transmission.

The project will integrate high-throughput sequencing, bioinformatic analyses and systems-level data integration to identify microbial and metabolic signatures associated with pathogen fitness, gut ecology and disease. The Research Assistant will contribute to studies that improve our understanding of enteric pathogen biology and host-microbiome interactions, generating new insights to support the development of strategies to reduce the burden of enteric disease.

The post will be based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine with the team of Dr Ozan Gundogdu and his team.

The successful applicant will have a postgraduate degree in a relevant biological science field, relevant experience in shotgun metagenomic sequencing, microbial genome assembly, taxonomic and functional annotation, and analysis of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), experience analysing large sequencing datasets using bioinformatic workflows and statistical approaches, including microbial diversity analyses, differential abundance testing and multivariate analyses, experience with R for data analysis and visualisation, experience integrating genomic and functional datasets to investigate host-microbiome-pathogen interactions and interpreting complex biological datasets to address questions in infectious disease and microbial ecology.

Experience in microbiome and microbial ecology research using integrated multi-omic approaches (particularly avian biology) is highly desirable. Further particulars are included in the job description.

The post is part-time 17.5 hours per week, 0.5 FTE and fixed term until 30 September 2027 or for 12 months from start date. The post is funded by the BBSRC and is available from 01 October 2026.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is one of the world's leading public health universities. Our mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice., The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is committed to being an equal opportunities employer.

We believe that when people feel respected and included, they can be more creative, successful, and happier le we have more work to do, we are committed to building an inclusive workplace, a community that everyone feels a part of, which is safe, respectful, supportive and enables all to reach their full potential.

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The salary will be on the LSHTM salary scale, Grade 5 in the range £39,984 - £45,728 per annum pro rata (inclusive of London Weighting). The post will be subject to the LSHTM terms and conditions of service. Annual leave entitlement is 30 working days per year, pro rata for part time staff. In addition to this there are discretionary "Wellbeing Days".

Membership of the Pension Scheme is available. The post is based in London at LSHTM.