School/Department: School of Veterinary Medicine & Science

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM Recruitment Role Profile Form

Job Title: Research Associate/Fellow: Understanding inflammatory processes in ovine footrot to inform rational vaccine design

Salary: £25,513 - £28,695 per annum, depending on skills and experience (minimum with a Phd £28,695). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance.

Job Family and Level: Research & Teaching level R&T4 (TG)

Contract Status: Fixed-term until 30/06/2018

Hours of Work: Full-time

Location: Sutton Bonington campus

Reporting to: Dr Robert Atterbury

Purpose of the New Role: Research

Main Responsibilities % time per year

1. To conduct research at the highest level in accordance with the aims and 80% objectives of the project and produce useful outputs of impact that lead to peer-reviewed publications of international quality. This will include participation in and presentation at research dissemination events as requested, and to participate in and present at research visits to France, Belgium and Denmark.

2. To contribute to research supervision and training of undergraduates and 5% postgraduates, and to contribute to the development of the research group and the School.

3. To operate as an effective team player within the group and to be accountable 5% to the line manager on the progress and daily running of the project.

4. To contribute to administrative work related to the research group. 5%

5. To update professional skills as appropriate and relevant in support of research 5% excellence.

Recruitment Job Description

This is a full time 3-year post funded by the BBSRC under the EU Animal Health and Welfare ERA-NET (ANIHWA) scheme. The person appointed will undertake high quality research on a project investigating the use of viruses which infect bacteria (bacteriophages) to control pathogenic Escherichia coli infections as an alternative to antibiotic treatments. Antibiotic resistance is a significant and increasing problem in many bacterial pathogens that infect animals and humans. E. coli is among the most important of these pathogens, because of its role in intestinal, urinary tract and respiratory disease, and septicaemia in a variety of livestock species; and also because many serotypes of E. coli that are associated with extra- intestinal infections in animals and humans are closely related. Antibiotic resistance in E. coli strains is increasing worldwide and this resistance can be maintained even after reducing or withdrawing antibiotic use.

This project will involve isolating bacteriophage which specifically target surface bacterial determinants of virulence and/or antibiotic resistance transfer. Genome sequencing and analysis, and in vitro replication characteristics will be used to select bacteriophage biocontrol candidates for evaluation in an Avian Pathogenic E. coli (APEC) septicaemia model in chickens. Bacteriophage resistance in the host bacterium will be addressed by (i) targeting surface receptors which are important for virulence and/or antibiotic resistance and (ii) studying the CRISPR-Cas system of wild strains of E. coli to determine its role in phage resistance and its epidemiology and evolution during phage infection. This approach can synergise with the development of new drugs and has the potential to provide a sustainable platform for control of antibiotic-resistant pathogens which could easily be extrapolated to many other animal and human pathogens.

This work is in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Copenhagen, University of Leuven, and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France. The applicant must be willing to spend some time on research visits to these European partner laboratories.

Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications & Experience

Essential Desirable Qualifications/Ed  A 2:1 or above in an appropriate  First degree in microbiology, ucation life science degree, or equivalent. molecular biology or  a PhD or near to completion in a biochemistry/genetics. relevant topic  UK Home Office ASPA  UK valid driving licence Personal License. Skills/Training  Standard molecular,  Publications in high impact bioinformatics and microbiology peer-reviewed journals. techniques  Excellent command of the English language, spoken and written  Ability to work independently and as part of a team and a willingness to spend time at collaborators’ institutes Experience  Candidate must have experience in  Experience of working with molecular biology and bacteriophages bioinformatics  Evidence of participation in collaborative projects  Experience of next generation sequencing and data analysis  Some post-doctoral research experience.