Job Description

Applications Close: 30 November 2025


Salary: 37,500 to 40,240 per annum depending on qualifications and experience


Contract Length: 18 months, full time


We're looking for a Research Scientist to join the Laboratory of Professor Alessia Buscaino in our Food, Microbiome and Health programme.



The Buscaino Lab, recently relocated to the Quadram Institute, is part of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins. The group is international and diverse, bringing together researchers with expertise in molecular biology, genomics, and microbiology to address fundamental and applied questions in fungal biology.

The role

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This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research in fungal biology and sustainable food innovation. The project will focus on exploring intra-species fungal genotypic and phenotypic diversity in filamentous fungi, with the goal of identifying and optimising strains for mycoprotein and microbial food production.



The successful candidate will apply biochemical, molecular biology, genomics, and phenotypic characterisation approaches, including nutritional profiling to understand how fungal diversity influences growth, metabolism, and nutritional value. The post holder will work closely with academic and industrial partners of the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Proteins and will benefit from the Quadram Institute's advanced sequencing, metabolomics, and bioinformatics platforms.



This role provides an excellent opportunity to develop skills in fungal genomics, strain engineering, multi-omics data analysis, and collaborative research, while contributing to scientific publications, funding proposals, and public engagement activities.

The ideal candidate

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Candidates should hold (or be close to completing) a PhD in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biotechnology, or a related discipline, with proven experience in fungal biology, genome editing, and/or microbial phenotyping. Strong communication, organisation, and teamwork skills are essential.

Additional information

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Salary on appointment will be within the range 37,500 to 40,240 per annum depending on qualifications and experience. This is a full-time post for a contract of 18 months.



For further information and details of how to apply can be found on our HR website or contact the Human Resources team on 01603 450814 or nbi.recruitment@nbi.ac.uk quoting reference 1004986. This role meets the criteria for a visa application, and we encourage all qualified candidates to apply. Please contact the Human Resources Team if you have any questions regarding your application or visa options.



Interviews will be held on 10 December 2025.



We are committed to equity, diversity and inclusion, and welcome applications from all sectors of society. The Institute values of Respect, Innovation, Collaboration and Excellence are at the heart of all we do, and we expect all employees to share and display these values. To support our commitment, we have a range of family, faith and diversity friendly working arrangements to help all staff achieve excellence in their area of work.



As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy.

The closing date for applications will be 30 November 2025

The Quadram Institute Bioscience is a registered charity (No. 1058499) and is an Equal Opportunities Employer.