Early Stage Researcher Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences 2025

We are seeking an applicant for a fully-funded HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN PhD studentship/position in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences at the University of Birmingham, in the group of Prof Ferenc Mueller.

The role

Multi-omic characterisation of transcription initiation regulation in development and injury response. In this project the applicant will be employed as well as registered for PhD and will work in a team formed by an international, interdisciplinary consortium to explore the transcription regulatory landscape and codes of transcription initiation variation in developmental and neural injury models. The student will learn developmental gene manipulation in zebrafish, single cell genomics technologies, computational analyses of multi-omic datasets to study promoter level regulation of normal development and injury response.

Prof Mueller’s research focusses on transcription regulation in development and disease https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/cancer-genomic/mueller-ferenc.

Within the University of Birmingham, Prof Mueller’s group is embedded in the Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, as well as the Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology. The Birmingham Centre for Genome Biology aims to understand how genomes function at a deep molecular level, bringing together researchers across the University of Birmingham, enabling research collaborations between specialists in Gene Regulation and Epigenetics in Development and Disease, RNA Biology, DNA Replication and Repair, Cancer Biology, Bacterial Genome Studies, Environmental Toxicology and Computational Biology.

The University of Birmingham is one of the leading research-based universities in the United Kingdom. Birmingham is 62nd in the 2023 QS World University Rankings for Life Sciences and Medicine, and joint 11th with a research power ranking of 6th in the recent University research ranking of the UK (Medicine, REF-2021).

The PhD student will be a member of the DANIO-ReCODE Doctoral Network. The principal objective of DANIO-ReCODE is to provide world-class doctoral training to a new generation of early-career researchers interested in understanding the complex and multi-layered process of vertebrate tissue regeneration. DANIO-ReCODE combines the multidisciplinary expertise of 15 research laboratories in the EU and UK, to enhance the understanding of vertebrate regeneration processes at the molecular level, while providing new avenues for the repair or replacement of damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues.

Role summary

• Work within the DANIO-ReCODE research grant and project.
• Operate within the research areas of chromatin biology, gene regulation, transcription regulation, developmental genetics and genomics, comparative analysis in the context of tissue regeneration using zebrafish
• Analyse and interpret research findings and results from relevant experiments
• Contribute to the dissemination of the results

Main duties

The responsibilities will include these outlined below:

• Develop research objectives for research into transcription regulation and the cis regulatory interactions in telencephalon injury and regeneration and its evolutionary conservation, carried out with the assistance of a supervisor/mentor.
• Collect research data by experimental molecular biology;
• Analyse and interpret data
• Develop or adapt techniques, models and methods
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding of genome topology.
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Interact with other members of the DANIO-ReCODE consortium and fulfil the responsibilities associated with the studentship, such as attending consortium meetings, training activities and international secondments to partner organisations.
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities.
• Contribute to public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, under supervision of the project leader.
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Carry out administrative tasks related directly to the delivery of the research
• Promote equality and value diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person specification

• A first degree in a relevant field (biological, biomedical, natural sciences, mathematics or computer science).
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a research team.
• High level analytical capability and an inquisitive mind.
• Laboratory experience with developmental genetics or genomics tools.
• Experience working with complex datasets.
• Experience working with next generation sequencing data is desirable,
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly.
• A willingness to travel to other research organisations for the secondments is essential,
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day to day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.

The eligibility criteria are

• At the time of first recruitment by the host organisation, the candidate must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc. ) in the country of their host organisation for more than twelve months in the three years immediately before the reference date.
• The candidate must not hold a PhD degree at the time of recruitment

When applying, please supply a:

• motivation letter, including a few sentences on a recent project you have worked on
• cv
• transcripts (including the list of courses you have taken).
• statement that you consent to the process and use of your data provided according to law 679/2016 of the Regulation of the European Parliament.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy . You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website .