Applications are invited from talented, motivated and highly committed researchers for a Postdoctoral Researcher position in the Department of Bionteractions and Crop Protection at Rothamsted Research, UK to join an ongoing project on the genetic improvement of mungbean, one of the most popular pulse crops in India, for resistance to fungal diseases Cercospora leaf spot and powdery mildew. The project is a partnership between Rothamsted Research and research groups in two different Universities in India and is supported by the Newton Bhabha Fund and BBSRC within the Pulses & oilseeds research initiative until 31 December 2021.
To be considered for this role, candidates should possess a PhD/doctoral degree in Plant Genetics and/or Genomics and have expertise and experience in performing QTL and GWAS analyses plus at least one first author publication in this area. It is desirable that candidates have strong molecular biological techniques and experience working with fungal pathogens of plants. Previous experience working with mungbean or other pulse crops or legumes is not essential but is desirable.
The post holder will be responsible for performing innovative research of international quality aimed at gaining an in-depth understanding of the different mungbean-pathogen interactions, providing the genetic/ genomic data to assist disease resistance breeding in mungbean, and assessing the potential of emerging technologies such as Host-induced gene silencing (HIGS) and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for engineering broad-spectrum resistance to these economically damaging fungal diseases in mungbean.
This is a full-time, fixed term post funded until 31 December 2021 and has a starting salary within the range of £31,350 to £32,315 per annum depending on profile and experience. Due to the short length of this contract only candidates that are currently based in the UK and can start as soon as possible, mid-April the latest should apply. Please confirm this in your application.
Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr Kostya Kanyuka (kostya.kanyuka@rothamsted.ac.uk).
Closing date: 4 March 2020
Interviews:11/12 March 2020