Research Fellow

About us

The Division of Biosciences at UCL is one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences. We have an outstanding international reputation and a community of over 500 staff and more than 300 PhD students engaged in cutting edge research and collaboration.

Further information can be found on our website https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences

About the role

We are seeking a talented and ambitious Research Fellow (RF) to join a project combining temporal evolutionary and ecological community dynamics. The RF will apply cutting-edge approaches in sedaDNA and palaeogenomics to reconstruct biodiversity change and track genomic diversity through periods of ecological collapse and recovery.

• This is a fixed-term role available from 1 July 2026 to 30 August 2029.
• 'Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £38,357 - £41,005 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.'
• This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Academic Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies/2021/jun/conditions-service-academic-staff for more information.

If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online or have any queries about the application process, please contact the HR Administrator.

About you

You must have:

• A PhD (awarded or near completion) in ancient DNA and/or sedimentary ancient DNA, or relevant subject area.

Experience in the following is essential:

• Strong analytical skills in the analysis and interpretation of palaeogenomic and population genomic datasets, including experience with relevant computational and statistical approaches.
• Demonstrable experience in practical laboratory work with ancient DNA (aDNA) and/or sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA)
• Interest in interdisciplinary work combining evolution and ecology.
• Background in using the R statistical programming environment.
• Proven track record of scientific publication.

A full person specification can be found on our website

What we offer

The UCL Ways of Working supports colleagues to be successful and happy at UCL through sharing expectations around how we work please https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/policies-advice/ways-working to find out more.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits; visit Reward and Benefits | Work at UCL - UCL University College London to find out more.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

Our division holds an Athena SWAN Silver award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/