PDRA/PDRF - Genomic Data Science/Bioinformatics

The above full‑time (1.0 FTE) post is available from 5th January 2026 (flexible start date) until 4th January 2029, on a fixed‑term basis within the Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy.

This role offers the opportunity for hybrid working – some time on campus and some from home.

The Faculty wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow to participate in a project to study immune response in neurodegenerative disease. Immune responses play a critical role in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. However, the mechanisms underlying these responses remain unclear, including the stages at which they are protective or detrimental, and whether shared mechanisms exist across the diseases.

The postdoctoral position is part of a large‑scale collaborative research project involving, among others, the University of Exeter, Open Targets, the Wellcome Sanger Institute, EMBL‑EBI, and the University of Oxford. The project aims to optimise and utilise cellular model systems, gene editing, and single‑cell transcriptomic and spatial approaches to better understand immune responses in neuro‑degeneration.

The postdoctoral researcher will join a data science team at the University of Exeter that focuses on data analysis and experimental design for genome editing experiments and single‑cell transcriptomic/spatial datasets.

This is a fixed‑term position for 3 years, with flexible start date between 01/2026 and 05/2026.

Applicants will hold a PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in statistics, bioinformatics, computer science, computational biology, genomics, or a related discipline. They will have experience applying statistics and/or machine learning to biological or medical research questions, ideally including the analysis of omics datasets.

Proficiency in R and Python, as well as experience using high‑performance computing clusters, is essential. The successful applicant will demonstrate the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment, engaging with both computational and experimental researchers.

Experience in analysing single‑cell omics datasets would be an advantage. This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to high‑impact biomedical research in close collaboration with experimental groups and partners across academia and industry.

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• Flexible working opportunities
  
• 41 days annual leave (including bank holidays)
  
• Actively inclusive organisation ensuring equality and fairness for all
  
• Sector leading policies around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay) and a Fertility Treatment Policy
  
• Multiple wellbeing and health initiatives for staff
  
• Onsite gyms on all of our campus’ and a cycle to work scheme
  
• Sustainability and the environment being at the heart of what we do
  
• Beautiful campus environment when working from either Exeter or Penryn
  
• Inspiring research that really makes a difference to the world
  

Please contact Sophie Smith,

For a PDRA, the starting salary will be from £34,610 on Grade E, depending on qualifications and experience. For a PDRF, the starting salary will be from £43,482 on Grade F, depending on qualifications and experience.

The deadline for applications is 23:59 on 01 December 2025.