Job Opportunities
Area
Plant & Crop Sciences
Location
Sutton Bonington
Salary
£31,387 to £46,485 per annum, pro rata depending on skills and experience (minimum £35608 with relevant PhD). Salary progression beyond this scale is subject to performance.
Closing Date
Friday 06 March 2026
Reference
SCI833426
Research Associate/Fellow in Root-Soil Interactions and Molecular Biology
School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham
Project: UKRI ’GROUNDBREAKING’
Applications are invited for a Research Associate/Fellow to join the UKRI-funded project GROUNDBREAKING, which aims to uncover how plant roots sense and penetrate hard soils. Building on our recent discoveries (Mingyuan et al., Nature, 2025; Jiao et al., Nature, 2025), this project will identify novel genes and regulatory pathways that enable roots to perceive and respond to hard soil environments. We are especially interested in candidates eager to explore the interface between cell wall mechanics and soil physical properties applying spatial gene regulation to understand root biomechanics.
This position is ideally suited to a highly motivated and independent researcher with a strong interest in spatial gene regulation, root-soil interactions, and molecular cell biology.
Applicants must hold (or be nearing completion of) a PhD in molecular biology, plant biology, or a related discipline. Candidates close to submitting their PhD thesis in root or cell biology will also be considered.
Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable:
· Root biology, cell or developmental biology
· Molecular biology approaches (e.g., single-cell or spatial transcriptomics, protein-DNA interactions)
· Cellular and confocal imaging
· Hormone signalling pathways
· Experience working with rice or Arabidopsis is advantageous
· A track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals
Further Details
· Hours: Full time (36.25 hours per week)
· Start date: Available immediately
· Contract: Fixed term for 3 years
· Location: Sutton Bonington Campus, University of Nottingham
For more information about our research group, please visit:
Informal enquiries may be directed to Dr Bipin Pandey (bipin.pandey @ nottingham.ac.uk). Please note: applications submitted to this email address will not be accepted.
The University of Nottingham is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Email details to a friend
Further details:
* Job Description/Role Profile
Our university is a supportive, inclusive, caring and positive community. We welcome those of different cultures, ethnicities and beliefs - indeed this very diversity is vital to our success, it is fundamental to our values and enriches life on campus. Visit our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion website.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) employer. Increasing the diversity of our community is extremely important to us and we are committed to the aims of Disability Confident Scheme.
We are the first university to have achieved Athena Swan Gold Award .
To help you succeed, we published Candidate Guidance to provide support on the application and interview process.
Discover our benefits, visit Your Benefits website.
We welcome applications from UK, Europe and worldwide and aim to make your move to the UK as smooth as possible. Visit the Moving to Nottingham page for details.
Your application will be considered on an equal basis, subject to the relevant permission to work in the UK as set out by UK Visas & Immigration .
View All Vacancies
Jobs by Email
Jobs by RSS
Search
Advanced Search