"Postdoctoral Research Associate/ Fellow"

The post

The Faculty of Health and Life Sciences wishes to recruit a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to perform genetic analysis of factors influencing penetrance and expressivity of haemochromatosis. This UKRI Medical Research Council (MRC) funded post is available from 12th January 2026 to 30th September 2028.

Haemochromatosis is the most common genetic condition in the UK, with up to 1 in 150 people at high risk of this iron overload disease. Yet there is a major unmet clinical need to understand the substantial patient variability in symptoms and outcomes. Funded by a prestigious MRC award, the team aims to discover genetic and clinical features that could help identify which people will develop organ damage in haemochromatosis, to prioritise patients for further investigation.

You will work with a world leading team of genetic-epidemiologists, data scientists, and clinicians to discover genetic factors that explain differences in clinical outcomes. You will have access to large scale genetics and medical-record data from >1 million individuals from the ‘UK Biobank’ and ‘All of Us’ cohorts. As part of the larger programme of work, you will have the opportunity to interact with patients, with scientists from varied disciplines, and specialist clinicians and disease domain experts.

About you

The successful applicant will be able to develop research objectives, projects and proposals; identify sources of research funding and contribute to the process of securing funds and make presentations at conferences and other events.

Applicants will possess a relevant PhD or equivalent qualification/experience in a related field of study. The successful applicant will be a nationally recognised authority in human genetics, computer science, or statistical analysis, and possess sufficient specialist knowledge in the discipline to develop research programmes and methodologies. The successful applicant will also be able to work collaboratively, supervise the work of others and act as team leader as required. Applicants will be able to undertake genetic analysis of complex disease in humans.

What we can offer you

• Freedom (and the support) to pursue your intellectual interests and to work creatively across disciplines to produce internationally exciting research;
• Support teams that understand the University wide research and teaching goals and partner with our academics accordingly
• An Innovation, Impact and Business directorate that works closely with our academics providing specialist support for external engagement and development
• Our Exeter Academic initiative supporting high performing academics to achieve their potential and develop their career
• A multitude of staff benefits including sector leading benefits around maternity, adoption and shared parental leave (up to 26 weeks full pay), Paternity leave (up to 6 weeks full pay), and a Fertility Treatment Policy
• A beautiful campus set in the heart of stunning Devon

Further information

For further information please contact Dr Luke Pilling, e-mail l.pilling@exeter.ac.uk or telephone (01392) 72 6808.

The closing date for completed applications is 30th October 2025. Interviews are expected to take place on 12th November 2025.