Research Scientist – Plant Pathology James Hutton Institute

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with a PhD and expertise in plant pathology to join our group working on epidemiology, disease control and IPM. The focus of the role will primarily be to work on potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans but is anticipated to extend to other fungal crop pathogens as required. This post will be based in the department of Cell & Molecular Sciences located at the Invergowrie Campus.

The postholder will initially contribute to, and in the longer-term lead, our longstanding and internationally recognised programme of potato late blight research which delivers impact to industry stakeholders and growers. In addition to our ongoing programme of research in epidemiology, disease control and IPM we are particularly interested in candidates with computational experience, for example to support new genomic approaches around the prediction of evolving fungicide active ingredient and durable host resistance gene targets.

This will require familiarity and practical application of skills in computational biology to manage, analyse and interpret large volumes of DNA sequence data. This role therefore ideally brings together a well-established understanding of plant pathology, the ability to organise, analyse, display and exploit genome sequences to reach these goals and an enthusiasm for knowledge exchange and the delivery of practical impact.

This post would have potential to accelerate progress in other pathosystems and fill a major gap in the UK science base. The postholder will be responsible for designing and conducting independent and collaborative research and applying for research funding.