Postdoctoral Research Officer

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BU04087

School of Environmental & Natural Sciences

7

36 months (3 years)

Professor of Soil and Environmental Science

14-08-2026

Applications are invited for this fixed term, full-time Postdoctoral Research Officer in wastewater epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bioinformatics, based in the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences at Bangor University. The post is embedded within an active wastewater research team led by Professor Davey Jones and Dr Luke Hillary.

The postholder will mine and integrate large-scale wastewater metagenomic and amplicon datasets to characterise the resistome and mobilome of freshwater, agricultural runoff, and municipal wastewater systems across Wales and beyond. A core objective is to generate actionable AMR intelligence to inform public health policy and environmental monitoring frameworks in collaboration with partner organisations including Verily Life Science and Public Health Wales.

Qualified candidates should possess a PhD (awarded or near completion) in bioinformatics, microbial genomics, computational biology, environmental microbiology, or a closely related discipline and have previous experience with workflow management tools such as Snakemake, Nextflow, or equivalent. Demonstrable experience in metagenomic data analysis is required, with proficiency in at least one scripting language (Python and/or R) for data processing, statistical analysis, and visualisation.

Candidates should have experience of working with high-performance computing (HPC) environments and/or cloud computing platforms.

The successful candidate will be expected to commence on 1 st October 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter and the post is available for a period of 36 months.

This role will be located on campus ough our Dynamic Working framework, there will also be the option to spend some time working remotely (although remaining in the UK) to support work life balance, which will be discussed further with candidates at interview.

Occasional travel within the UK for site visits, consortium meetings, and conferences is anticipated; reasonable travel costs will be reimbursed.

This post is offered on a fixed-term basis for three years, subject to funding confirmation.

Overview

Wastewater represents a critical convergence point for AMR genes, mobile genetic elements, and resistant pathogens shed from human, animal, and agricultural sources. Surveillance of wastewater has demonstrated utility in tracking community-level AMR dynamics and in providing early warning signals for emerging resistance threats, including through pathogen genomic surveillance programmes deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bangor wastewater research team holds substantial longitudinal datasets comprising metagenomics, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and quantitative PCR data from a network of monitoring sites across Welsh river catchments and wastewater treatment works. This post will focus on computational analysis and integration of these datasets to identify resistome trends, transmission routes, and environmental reservoirs of AMR.

The postholder will report jointly to Professor Davey Jones (Professor of Environmental Microbiology) and Dr Luke Hillary (Research Fellow, Wastewater Epidemiology). Professor Jones leads a broad portfolio of soil and water microbiome research within the School of Natural Sciences, with extensive national and international collaborations. Dr Hillary specialises in wastewater-based epidemiology and has led genomic surveillance programmes relevant to AMR and pathogen detection.

Together they provide complementary expertise in environmental microbiology and applied bioinformatics.

The post is based at the Environment Centre Wales (ECW), a joint facility of Bangor University and UKCEH, providing a vibrant interdisciplinary research environment with access to state-of-the-art molecular and computational facilities.

The post is primarily based in Bangor, North Wales, with the option for some remote working in…