Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Epidemiology – Title Post

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Epidemiology – Title of the Post

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (Hybrid working – office-based minimum 3 days per week)

General Description The University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM), School of Genetics and Cancer, invites applications for two Postdoctoral Research Fellow positions in Molecular Epidemiology. These full-time positions (35 hours per week) are offered at Grade UE07 and are fixed-term for 36–48 months. The posts are funded through a Medical Research Council (MRC) grant titled “Blood- and saliva-based DNA methylation biomarkers of disease.”

The research will investigate epigenetic biomarkers of organ ageing, proteins, and disease outcomes.

The project will analyse DNA methylation data from three large Scottish studies, using approximately 35,000 samples across blood and saliva. The successful researchers will contribute to developing and testing biomarkers and integrating multi-omics data to understand disease mechanisms and ageing processes.

• Building epigenetic biomarkers for 11 organ age estimates and 10,000 proteins using longitudinal data from approximately 800 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.
• Testing these biomarkers in a subset of 1,000 volunteers from Generation Scotland.
• Determining correlations of biomarkers across biosamples such as blood and saliva.
• Applying biomarkers to blood-based DNA methylation data from 19,000 Generation Scotland participants and saliva-based data from 11,000 additional volunteers.
• Investigating associations between biomarkers and the incidence of 174 disease outcomes as well as all-cause mortality.
• Developing pipelines to replicate findings through international consortia projects including GoDMC and DEEP.
• Developing and applying a multivariate genome-wide association (GWA) framework to identify shared and unique SNP correlates of measured proteins and their DNA methylation analogues.
• Using summary-level bivariate associations across omics layers (SNPs, CpGs, Epi Scores, and proteins) and disease outcomes to build graph models identifying age‑specific causal pathways.

The research management team includes Riccardo Marioni, Simon Cox, and Sarah Harris (University of Edinburgh), Matthew Robinson (Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Vienna), Josine Min and Hannah Elliott (University of Bristol), with project partners Professor Tony Wyss-Coray (Stanford University) and Professor Dan Belsky (Columbia University).

Applicants will be required to submit a CV and a cover letter as part of their application. The University may be able to sponsor international candidates depending on individual circumstances. Candidates must provide evidence of their right to work in the United Kingdom prior to employment. Interviews will take place shortly after the Final date to receive applications.

PhD in molecular epidemiology, epigenetic epidemiology, or a closely related discipline.

• Outstanding track record of first‑author publications.
• Strong understanding of genetic and epigenetic epidemiology.
• Advanced statistical analysis skills.
• Ability to design and manage complex research projects.
• Ability to mentor students and postdoctoral researchers.

£41,064 to £48,822 per annum (Grade UE07).

16 March 2026 (11:59 PM GMT).