Research Fellow - Department of Inflammation and Ageing Grade 7

Position Details

Department of Inflammation and Ageing, School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health

Location:

University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,130 to £45,413 with potential progression once in post to £48,149

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2026

Closing date: 6th August 2025

Background

We are seeking a talented and motivated post-doctoral researcher to join Rheumatology Research Group. The Research Fellow will be supervised by Dr John Reynolds and Dr Jason Turner within the Department of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham. The successful candidate will work to deliver high level computational analysis of immune cell subsets in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE).

The researcher will work to deliver a specific project to understand the biology of immune cells, especially T cells, in the skin of patients with (CLE) using single-cell transcriptomics.

The successful candidate will work in close association with teams consisting of laboratory-based and clinical researchers to deliver the project.

Experience with analysis of transcriptomic data is essential.

Role Summary

• Work withinthe Department of Inflammation and Ageing
• Operate within area of specialism
• Analyse and interpret research findings and support their publication
• Contribute to generating external funding
• Develop and make contributions to knowledge transfer, enterprise, business engagement, or similar activities at Department/School level or further within the University

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• Design and conduct bioinformatic data analysis pipelines under the guidance of the research supervisor to test the project hypotheses and complete project aims
• Develop research objectives, which may include proposals for further research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding that enhance the work of the department
• Analyse and interpret data
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research-related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new computational models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promotes equality and values diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture

Person Specification

• A First degree which should have links with informatics and science e.g. biological, biomedical, natural sciences, computing, informatics and computer science. A PhD(or near to completion) or equivalent experience in Biological or Biomedical sciences, Immunology or Bioinformatics
• High level analytical capability
• Broad understanding of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and demonstration of proven experience in analysis of bulk and single cell transcriptomic data would be an advantage
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
  • Evidence of an ability to write to a standard required for research reports/publications
  • Effective interpersonal and communication skills (e.g. ability to interact with project partners and explain complex ideas to non-bioinformaticians in an understandable way)
  • Work in a…