Postdoc Research Fellow — Synthetic Evolution & Genomics in Oxford

At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we're on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity's greatest challenges in four transformative areas: Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology, Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Change & Managing CO₂, Artificial Intelligence & Robotics.

This is ambitious work - work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you'll join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real‑world breakthroughs. Together, we push boundaries, embrace complexity, and create solutions to scale ideas from lab to society.

Welcome to the Generative Biology Institute. Led by Founding Director Jason Chin, the Generative Biology Institute (GBI) at the Ellison Institute of Technology is tackling the key challenges in making biology engineerable, and thereby unlocking the unrivalled power of biology for the benefit of humanity. The vision of the GBI is to lay the foundations for engineering biology, and unlock its potential for good. To achieve this, we must overcome two key challenges. First, we need the ability to write in the natural language of biology, enabling the rapid and scalable synthesis of entire genomes with precision. Second, we must understand what to write - determining which DNA sequences will generate biological systems that perform the desired functions. Addressing these challenges will allow us to harness the full power of biology to create transformative solutions across health, agriculture, clean energy and more.

The Generative Biology Institute commenced operations in 2025, occupying newly renovated bespoke space in the Oxford Science Park. The team will later move to a purpose‑made facility in the Oxford Science Park, currently under construction. Once complete, this state‑of‑the‑art facility will include more than 40,000 m² of research laboratory and office space. It will house over 30 groups and up to 600 employees at scale, focused on solving the two critical challenges in making biology engineerable and applying the solutions to addressing the global challenges encapsulated in EIT's Humane Endeavours.

The Liu Lab is seeking ambitious, creative, and highly skilled Postdoctoral Researchers to join the Liu Lab for Synthetic Evolution at GBI, led by Principal Investigator, Chang C. Liu. The Liu Lab is broadly interested in mapping the relationship between macromolecular sequence and biological function, and the related question on how this space is productively searched by evolution and ML‑based design. Towards this goal, the Liu Lab invented orthogonal DNA replication (OrthoRep), an architecture that liberates the replication of chosen genes from the low mutational speed limits of genome propagation, enabling continuous accelerated gene evolution at scale in vivo.

Three current major efforts in the group are:

• Generating large and diverse antibody sequence‑affinity datasets to train affinity‑aware antibody design models.
• Generating diverse sequence‑function maps for enzymes to reveal new structural and functional constraints and train design models.
• Witnessing biomolecular innovation in real time, focusing on the question of how new gene functions emerge in vivo, including de novo from random sequence.

Other projects focus on specific protein engineering applications, biotechnology goals, and continuous DNA barcoding to study development in animals.

How To Apply

In your cover letter, please clearly explain your fit, interest, and relevant experience for joining this group. You are also required to upload a short (0.5 page) description of a specific question, idea, or problem you might like to explore as a postdoc. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and all applications to the Liu group should be submitted exclusively through the EIT job portal. Please feel free to contact the PI by e‑mail (chang.liu@eit.org). Due to the volume of applications, the review and decision process may take 3–6 months.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments, including the development of novel methodologies and adaptation of existing techniques to new applications.
• Analyse complex data, including through computational and statistical tools as needed, interpreting results in the context of broader research goals.
• Contribute intellectually to the research direction by identifying opportunities for innovation and refining research questions.
• Prepare and publish high-quality scientific papers, reports, presentations, and protocols.
• Present research at national and international conferences, seminars, and internal meetings.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams within GBI, EIT, and external partners as appropriate.
• Mentor and support junior researchers, including PhD students and research assistants.
• Translate research findings into commercial or translational opportunities when appropriate.

This list is not exhaustive and the role holder may be required to undertake additional tasks and duties commensurate with the role.

Requirements

• Completed a PhD in a relevant field (e.g., synthetic biology, bioengineering, genetics, molecular biology, evolutionary biology, computational biology and AI, cell biology, genomics, robotics and automation, and chemical biology).
• Track record of completing ambitious research projects to a high standard.
• Strong track record in research.
• Skilled in experimental and/or computational techniques and data analysis and interpretation.
• Proven ability to work independently, think critically and creatively, and solve complex problems.
• Experience publishing in high-impact journals and presenting at international conferences.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage concurrent projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Capacity to build and sustain productive collaborations.
• Resilience, adaptability, drive, and enthusiasm for working in a fast‑paced, high‑growth research environment.

Benefits

• Salary: Competitive + travel allowance + bonus.
• Enhanced holiday pay.
• Pension.
• Life Assurance.
• Income Protection.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• Hospital Cash Plan.