Postdoctoral Researcher

Overview

Hours per week: 37
Project Title: Decoding the molecular basis of Pseudomonas viridiflava virulence in divergent plants
Expected/Ideal Start Date: 01 Apr 2026
Months Duration: 36

Job Description

Main Purpose of the Job

Postdoctoral Researchers work with limited supervision to carry out individual and collaborative research projects relevant to the overall needs of the research programme. Working as part of a team led by Phil Carella, you will perform key experiments aimed at understanding virulence strategies enabling Pseudomonas viridiflava success in divergent land plants like Marchantia polymorpha and Nicotiana benthamiana. The role will provide you with a broad range of stimulating activities, including:

• Evolutionary and molecular dissection of virulence mechanisms (effectors and toxins)
• Molecular microbiology approaches to genetically manipulate virulence and other key Pseudomonas traits
• Experience with a wide range of plant and microbial techniques including genetics, biochemistry, and computational approaches.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in the emerging field of Evo-MPMI (evolutionary molecular plant-microbe interactions). You will also work with world leading scientists who are experts in their field.

Key Relationships

Internal: Line manager, group members and, as necessary, other researchers, research support staff and students across the Institute. External: Collaborators

Main Activities & Responsibilities

• Identify, plan, carry out and modify experiments to meet the objectives of the project
• Prepare results, reports and manuscripts for publication in leading scientific journals and other relevant media
• Disseminate research findings through presentations to various audiences at internal, national and international meetings
• Collaborate with colleagues within the Institute in the development of original and world-class research, including contributing to research proposals and grant applications
• Liaise with industry and other external stakeholders
• Ensure research and record keeping is carried out in accordance with good practice, Scientific Integrity and in compliance with local policies and any legal requirements
• Contribute to the smooth running of the group, including the effective use of resources, supervision of visitors to the laboratory and assisting with training others, encouraging scientific excellence
• Continually strive for excellence, seeking out and acting on feedback and relevant learning and development opportunities
• As agreed with the line manager, any other duties commensurate with the nature of the post, for example, contributing to the work of Institute committees

Person Profile

Education & Qualifications

Requirement Importance

• PhD (full award or expected within 6 months) or equivalent in Molecular Microbiology, Plant Biology and/or Biochemistry — Essential
• BSc or equivalent in plant and/or microbial biology — Essential

Specialist Knowledge & Skills

• Molecular Cloning Experience (GoldenGate, MoClo, Gibson, etc) — Essential
• Genetic Manipulation of Bacteria — Essential
• Plant pathology (infection assays, phenotyping, etc) — Essential
• Biochemistry (immunoblotting, co-immunoprecipitation, protein purification, etc) — Desirable
• Comparative genomics & Evolutionary analyses (phylogenetics, ancestral state reconstruction, sequence/structure similarity testing, RNA-sequencing, etc) — Desirable
• Plant tissue culture & transformation (stable and/or transient) — Desirable

• Experience of oral research presentations — Essential
• Demonstrated ability to perform research and develop novel ideas — Essential
• Proven record in scientific writing — Essential
• Preparing data / information for grant proposals — Desirable
• Experience of supervising, training and mentoring visitors and students — Desirable

Interpersonal & Communication Skills

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, including the ability to present complex information with clarity — Essential
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to work as part of a team — Essential
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, using initiative and applying problem solving skills — Essential
• Excellent time management and organisational skills — Essential
• Ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders — Essential
• Ability to follow instructions/Standard Operating Procedures — Essential
• Promotes and strives for continuous improvement — Essential

Additional Requirements

• Promotes equality and values diversity — Essential
• Willingness to embrace the expected values and behaviours of all staff at the Institute, ensuring it is a great place to work — Essential
• Able to present a positive image of self and the Institute, promoting both the international reputation and public engagement aims of the Institute — Essential
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and security of information where appropriate — Essential
• Willingness to work outside standard working hours when required — Essential
• Ability to undertake occasional travel (national and international) related to collaborations and/or seminars — Essential
• Attention to detail — Essential

Who We Are

The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant and microbial genetics, carrying out fundamental and strategic research, to train scientists and making our findings available to society.

Our research makes use of a wide range of disciplines in the biological and chemical sciences including; cell biology, biochemistry, chemistry, genetics and molecular biology.

We pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive working environment for all. We have a diverse and multicultural scientific community and thrive on our European and international links, appointing staff from across the world. Any candidate who would like further information on current or anticipated immigration requirements can contact the HR Team on +44 (0)1603 450888 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk.

We are proud to hold a prestigious Athena SWAN Gold award , recognising the impact of our work in promoting gender equality in science. We are also a proud member of the Stonewall Diversity Champion’s programme , a founding signatory of the Tecnician Commitment and, as a Disability Confident employer, guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852), limited by guarantee (registered in England No. 511709).

Department

Cell & Developmental Biology

Development continues throughout the life of the plant. While many linear pathways affecting development have been discovered and are illustrated by elegant genetic studies, the challenge of the future will be for us to understand how these developmental pathways are integrated, both with themselves as well as with environmental signals, to enable a mature plant to grow from a seed. Guided by evolutionary principles, the Department uses its knowledge of biological processes obtained in laboratory organisms such as Arabidopsis to understand processes in crop plants such as Brassicas and cereals. The Department uses a combination of genetic, cell biological, molecular and evolutionary strategies. The insights we are gaining provide both an increasingly detailed knowledge of the proteins involved in diverse regulatory mechanisms and a conceptual framework in which this knowledge can be related and eventually integrated into a molecular description of plant cell function. The knowledge the department is creating is relevant to agriculture. Genes that control plant stature, form, over-wintering responses and growth are potentially useful for improving crop performance.

We are a curious, enthusiastic, and innovative research group exploring the diversity of defence responses that evolved to protect land plants from pathogen infection and the virulence strategies used by pathogens to overcome these defences. Using comparative macroevolutionary and molecular genetic approaches, our group explores widely-distributed and lineage-specific aspects of infection & immunity that will inform future efforts to protect plants from harmful pathogens.

The Postdoctoral Researcher
Salary: £37,500 – £45,350 per annum depending on qualifications and experience.
Contract: Full-time, 3 years.
Location: John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK.
Closing date: 10th February 2026.
Reference: 1005023.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the Carella Group at the John Innes Centre, working on cutting-edge science in Evo-MPMI (Evolutionary Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions).

About the John Innes Centre:

The John Innes Centre is an independent, international centre of excellence in plant and microbial sciences. We nurture a creative, curiosity-led approach to answering fundamental questions in bioscience, and translate that knowledge into societal benefits. Our strategic vision, Healthy Plants, Healthy People, Healthy Planet, sets out our ambitious long-term goals for the game changing impact of our science globally.

Our employees enjoy access to state-of-the-art technology and a diverse range of specialist training opportunities, including support for leadership and management. Click here to find out more about working at the John Innes Centre.

About the Carella Group:

We are a curious, enthusiastic, and innovative research group exploring the diversity of pathogen infection and plant immune processes underpinning host-microbe interactions across the green lineage. Using comparative macroevolutionary and molecular genetic approaches, our group explores widely-distributed and lineage-specific aspects of immunity & infection that will inform future efforts to protect plants from harmful pathogens.

The role:

Working as part of a team led by Phil Carella, you will perform key experiments aimed at identifying and understanding virulence processes enabling broad host infection ofPseudomonas phytopathogens indivergent land plants like the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. The role will provide you with a broad range of stimulating activities, including:

• Evolutionary and molecular dissection of virulence mechanisms (effectors and toxins)
• Molecular microbiology approaches to genetically manipulate virulence and other key Pseudomonas traits
• Experience with a wide range of plant and microbial techniques including genetics, biochemistry, and computational approaches.

In this role, you will have the opportunity to develop your skills in the emerging field of Evo-MPMI (evolutionary molecular plant-microbe interactions). You will also work with world leading scientists who are experts in their field.

The ideal candidate:

You will have a PhD in Molecular Microbiology, Plant Biology and/or Biochemistry. You will have in-depth knowledge of microbial virulence strategies, a general understanding of evolutionary plant-pathogen interactions, and demonstrable experience in molecular biology/microbiology.

Additional information:

This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Where the successful applicant requires a visa, we will fund the costs for their visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.

We are an equal opportunities employer, actively supporting inclusivity and diversity. As a Disability Confident organisation, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy. We are proud to hold a prestigious Gold Athena SWAN award in recognition of our inclusive culture, commitment and good practices towards advancing of gender equality. We are also a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.

The John Innes Centre is a registered charity (No. 223852) grant-aided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.