Research Associate in Microbial Evolution

We are seeking a postdoctoral research associate in microbial evolution as part of an interdisciplinary consortium investigating the evolutionary biology of antimicrobial resistance. Rising antimicrobial resistance is a threat to global health that is caused by microbial evolution and as such requires evolution-informed solutions. This project, funded by the Wellcome Trust, seeks to better understand and thus predict the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacterial infections. The role will use experimental evolution to understand how pathogen genomic lineages vary in their evolvability, and how microbe-microbe interactions within the microbiome shape the evolution of antibiotic resistance. This position provides an excellent opportunity for ambitious researchers who are interested in applying ecological and evolutionary approaches to combat antibiotic resistance as part of an interdisciplinary team. The postholder will be embedded in a large community of microbial ecology and evolution researchers in Manchester, and will be encouraged to develop new lines of research and collaborations within the consortium. The postholder will be based at University of Manchester within the group of Michael Brockhurst, but will collaborate closely with the groups of Steve Paterson and Joanne Fothergill (Liverpool), and Dylan Childs (Sheffield).