Job Purpose
We are looking for a Research Assistant to contribute to projects on seaweed and salmon Aquaculture working with Dr Sofie Spatharis, Prof Martin Llewellyn and Dr Simon Babayan. The successful candidate will join a consortium of Aquaculture Industry partners from UK, Norway and Sweden and work towards developing tools that will boost the sustainability of the sector. These projects involve the deployment of state-of-the-art mobile marine aquaria and close integration with colleagues from the aquaculture industry as well as leading UK universities working on marine systems – Plymouth, SAMS, Stirling, Aberdeen and the Roslin Institute, Edinburgh.
Seaweed and salmon marine aquaculture are facing existential challenges that originate from the plankton. Specifically, salmon gill pathology and seaweed biofouling are driving important financial losses to the industry, both mainly caused by species originating from the zooplankton and phytoplankton. The successful candidate will undertake laboratory analyses such as plankton microscopy, image analysis and eDNA metabarcoding, and will contribute to experimental mesocosm trials involving seaweed and salmon at sites on Scotland's beautiful west coast. Daily interactions with diverse industry and academic colleagues alongside skills development and training will provide a perfect platform to launch a career in marine biology and aquaculture.
Project partners are world leaders in coastal ecology, marine biodiversity and eDNA metabarcoding. The candidate will join an exciting, friendly and experienced research team to drive forward our understanding of factors affecting seaweed biofouling and fish gill health. The post will involve a mix of field work, wet-lab and dry work with opportunities for secondment across UK, Norway and Sweden.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Perform the following activities in conjunction with and under the guidance of the Principal/Co Investigator:
1. Plan and conduct assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and project/group/School/College research strategy.
2. Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting technical/progress reports and papers as appropriate.
3. Develop and enhance your research profile and reputation and that of The University of Glasgow/School/Research Group, including contributing to publications of international quality in high profile/quality refereed journals, enhancing the research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit, and gathering indicators of esteem.
4. Contribute to the presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile.
5. Contribute to the identification of potential funding sources and to assist in the development of proposals to secure funding from internal and external bodies to support future research.
6. Collaborate with colleagues and participate in team/ group/ meetings/ seminars/ workshops across the research Group/School/College/University and wider community.
7. Contribute to the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of undergraduate and/or postgraduate students and less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.
8. Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including Budgets/Expenditure.
9. Carry out modest Teaching activities e.g. demonstrating etc. and associated admin as assigned by the Head of School and in consultation with Principal Investigator.
10. Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field/discipline.
11. Engage in continuing professional development activities as appropriate.
12. Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Head of School/Director of Research Institute.
13. Contribute to the enhancement of the University's international profile in line with the University's Strategic Plan, World Changers Together.
Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience
Knowledge/Qualifications
Essential
A1 SCQF Level 10 Honours degree in Marine Biology/Ecology or a cognate discipline, or equivalent
A2 Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of Marine ecosystems
A3 A comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of the wider subject area or subject specialism
Desirable
B1 An awarded or recently submitted or near completion PhD in Marine Biology/Ecology or equivalent
Skills
Essential
C1: Demonstrable excellent lab and field skills and aptitude.
C2: Extensive IT and data analysis/interpretation skills as appropriate
C3: Excellent communication skills oral and written, including public presentations and ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely
C4: Appropriate workload/time/project/budget/people management skills
C5: Self-motivation, initiative and independent thought/working
C6: Problem solving skills including a flexible and pragmatic approach
C7: Excellent interpersonal skills including team working and a collegiate approach
Desirable
D1: Skills on plankton microscopy
D2: Experimental design skills
D3: Aptitude with molecular biological methodologies including PCR and qPCR.
D4: Field monitoring
Experience
Essential
E1 Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner.
E2 A track record of presentation and publication of research results in quality journals/conferences.
E3 Ability to demonstrate a high degree of independence as illustrated by identification of project objectives from assessment of the literature, design and analysis of experiments and drafting of papers.
Desirable
F1 Experience working with industry partners
F2 Experience working overseas and coordinating research activities across multiple partner institutions.
F3: Experience managing field teams
Additional Information
Our School is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. As we are a merging of two Athena Swan Silver award winning bodies (the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine) we aim to achieve an Athena Swan award for the School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
The award demonstrates our commitment to best practice in recruiting and supporting the career development and progression of female scientists, addressing gender inequalities in higher education. The Athena SWAN Charter recognises commitment to advancing gender equality in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths and Medicine (STEMM) employment in academia. https: // www. gla.ac.uk/schools/bohvm/athenaswan/
Terms and Conditions
Salary will be Grade 6, £32,332 - £36,024 per annum.
This post is full time, and has funding up to 1 September 2026.
As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.
The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https: // www. gov.uk/skilled- worker-visa.
As a valued member of our team, you can expect:
1 A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.
2 An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https: // www. gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.
3 A flexible approach to working.
4 A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https: // www. gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.
We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https: // www. gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.
We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https: // www. gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.
We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https: // www. gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.
Vacancy Ref : 153253 Close Date : 16-Sep-2024 23:45