We are recruiting two postdoctoral researchers for a NERC Large Grant project on the eco-evolutionary dynamics of badger - bovine tuberculosis (bTB) interactions. The project builds on an amazing dataset: 50 years of longitudinal data from the Woodchester Park project, incl. bTB infection, life history, behavioural / movement, physiological / immunological and fitness data, paired with medium coverage whole-genome sequencing data for 2,500+ badgers across the study period. 

One of the roles focuses on the evolutionary genomics of badger - bovine TB interactions, using the WGS data to understand how genetic variation influences bTB susceptibility, disease progression and transmission, to examine the role of inbreeding and gene flow in shaping disease dynamics, to quantify how bTB has driven evolutionary change in the population over five decades, and to test evolutionary hypotheses for the maintenance of genetic variation in disease susceptibility (e.g. resistance–reproduction trade-offs, fluctuating selection), among others. You can find the link to the evolutionary genomics position here: https://careers.exeter.ac.uk/vacancies/847/postdoctoral-research-associate--fellow.html

The other position will combine concepts and analytical approaches from evolutionary ecology and quantitative genetics to investigate the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain senescence in natural populations, the inter-generational effects of senescence (parental age effects) and their evolution, the effects of senescence on bTB dynamics susceptibility, progression and transmission, and the mechanisms that underpin these effects, among others. You can find the link to the senescence position here: https://careers.exeter.ac.uk/vacancies/822/postdoctoral-research-associate--fellow.html

The wider project includes five postdocs with complementary expertise, along with research faculty from the Universities of Exeter (Barbara Tschirren, Andy Young, Dave Hodgson, TJ McKinley), Sheffield (Jon Slate) and Edinburgh (Matt Silk), and project partners from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), DEFRA and the Office for Environmental Protection. The positions are based at the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, UK, and are funded for 4 and 3.5 years, respectively, with an October 2026 starting date (flexible).

Contact b.tschirren@exeter.ac.uk for more information about the genomics position and a.j.young@exeter.ac.uk for more information about the ageing position.

Deadline: June 30 2026
Please refer to the Person Specification PDF in the advertisements and explain in your application how you meet the criteria.

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