Join the team!

In the lab, you’ll have the opportunity to get hands-on training in cutting-edge proteomics methods such as single-cell proteomics (SCoPE2/pSCoPE), have access to one of the few cellenONE platforms in UK academia, hands-on access to outstanding  mass spectrometry instrumentation as part of the Centre for Proteome Research, training to work on HG2/3 pathogens or clinical samples, and work alongside a team spanning virology, mass spec, bioinformatics and clinical proteomics.

Lab members also have access to additional training opportunities through the University and have used these to gain qualifications granting AFHEA or FHEA status, obtain commercialisation and science communication training, and complete more project-specific training in bioinformatics through courses run by the computational biology facility.

 

Work in this lab will suit you if you:

  • Want to do rigorous science, where we share our data, code, and reagents, letting others learn from, expand on, and validate our results.
  • In terms of research, you should be interested in one or several of the below:
    • Find (+ssRNA) viruses neat! Both because they can cause a lot of damage, but also because they can be incredible tools to learn about normal cell biology. Specifically we care about how these viruses replicate and interest with their hosts
    • Like mass spec (or want to learn), and how we can apply and develop new methods to study e.g. virus and cell or disease biology.
  • Aren’t afraid of doing/learning some coding so you can do your own analysis (with help!).
  • Want to have fun, with a supportive team who help and troubleshoot each others work (and when necessary, feed each other cake) while you are doing it!

 

Funded Positions:

  • PhD positions – None at present, equine SCP project to be advertised shortly for October 2026 start. Others may become available through the Liverpool BBSRC or MRC DLA schemes for Oct 2027 start.
  • PDRA positions – None at present, next likely funded positions to be advertised in 2027.

 

Unfunded Positions:

  • For applicants interested in MRes, PhD student or PDRA positions with access to funding, or who have identified a suitable funding scheme they are competitive for, we have the following priority areas we are interested in recruiting in:
    • Bioinformatics of single-cell proteomics, and proteolytic cleavage data
    • Antiviral development/drug repurposing
    • Viral biology (norovirus, coronavirus)

    Please contact Ed to discuss options, some of which are listed below. Please note that most of the fellowship schemes below are highly competitive, and you will need a strong prior record.

 

Other opportunities:

Fellowships and applying with/for your own funding (PhD &. Postdoc): If you have access to, or wish to pursue alternate sources of funding for PhD or postdoctoral positions in the lab, please contact Ed with a copy of your CV, and a description of your research interests and how these can fit with research in the lab. If a good fit, Ed can work with you to identify suitable research questions, and assist with funding applications. Please note fellowship applications take extensive work, so please get in touch well ahead of the relevant deadline.

 

Details on the application process for international students with access to funding who wish to pursue PhD study can be found here. A great source of potential fellowship schemes for interested applicants can be found at ECRcentral. Some specific Postdoctoral/PhD funding schemes include:

 

Wellcome Early Career Awards (Postdoctoral)

For those with up to 3 years postdoctoral experience, a Wellcome Early Career Award provides 5 years of funding for research expenses, your salary and helps you develop your own research identity as you move from a postdoctoral to an independent group leader position. See here for more details.

 

Royal Commision of 1851 Research Fellowships (Postdoctoral)

You must have a PhD and no more than three years postdoctoral experience. These cover your salary for a three year period, and £10k/yr research expenses. More information here.

 

Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships

International applicants may be eligible for Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships. Please see here for details. You must have a maximum of eight years postdoctoral experience (dated from your PhD viva), and you must not have worked in the UK for more than twelve months in the prior three years. Duration is 12-24 months for a standard fellowship, and 24-36 months for a global fellowship.

 

HFSP Postdoctoral fellowships

Annual fellowship call, 3 year fellowships including research expenses. You must have a PhD, and these cover salary and research expenses for three years. In the third year you have the option to move country to your/your spouses home country or another HFSPO country.  There are two types: cross-disciplinary fellowships for applicants with a PhD from a non-biological discipline who want to embark on a project in the life sciences, and long-term fellowships, for those from a life sciences background. More details here.

 

Royal Society Newton International Fellowships (Postdoctoral)

International applicants may be eligible for Royal Society Newton International Fellowships which provide 2 years of funding for postdoctoral projects. Applicants must not be UK citizens, and must be working outside the UK at the time of application. Full eligibility notes available here.

 

Royal Society Career Development Fellowships , Wellcome Accelerator awards

Royal Society Career Development Fellowships are a newly-launched scheme from the Royal Society specifically aimed at supporting researchers of Black or mixed-Black heritage. Applicants must have a PhD (or have one by the time funding starts) and at most 24 months of postdoctoral experience. Funding is for four years, covers your costs including visa and relocation costs if required and research expenses. Open to non-UK nationals. Wellcome Accelerator awards are a similar scheme from Wellcome, aimed at UK-based researchers from a Black, Bangladeshi or Pakistani background. Applicants must have a PhD by the time funding starts, funding is for two years and covers research expenses.

 

Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Mobility

These awards support researchers with links to Switzerland (please see scheme for full details) to spend two years gaining skills in an international lab, prior to a final year in Switzerland. The final year is applied for separately. Funds include salary and research support. Full details available here.

 

EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships

These cover your salary and relocation costs for 12-24 months. More details here. You must have a PhD, must be moving country, and cannot have done your PhD studies in the UK.

 

MRC Clinical Research Training Fellowship (Postdoctoral)

These support clinicians with a PhD, who completed their PhD usually ~5 years prior, without significant research experience since., and who wish to pursue a research career. More details here.

 

NIHR Research Career Funding options (PhD, Postdoctoral)

We have strong ongoing and prior collaborations with the directorate of Infection & Immunity at Liverpool Clinical Laboratories, and NIHR funding may suit clinically-trained applicants who want to conduct applied research in the area of virology. More details here.

 

Bekker NAWA Programme

This programme supports Polish PhD students or Postdocs who wish to spend 3-24 months in a foreign laboratory. It covers your living expenses related to the stay. More details here.

 

Commenwealth Scholarships (PhD)

International applicants from Commonwealth countries may be eligible for Commonwealth Scholarships to support PhD studies. The exact funding schemes available depend on the applicant country of citizenship. Currently the only open scheme is for candidates applying from countries defined by OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as least developed or vulnerable states.

 

Summer Studentships: If you are a second or third year BSc student interested in a summer placement in the lab, please contact Ed early in the academic year. There are funding streams you can apply to, for example, from the Microbiology Society, as well as internal schemes for University of Liverpool students. However, the deadlines for these are generally early in the spring before the placement, so please make contact early. It is usually Ed who will need to apply on your behalf, so you need to discuss this with Ed with plenty of time before the deadline.

  • Please note we are now at capacity for summer 2026.

 

Masters and Undergraduate Projects: There are projects available in the lab on the MRes Biological and Biomedical Sciences MRes course. Please refer to the course page for details of the course, and email Ed if you would like further details of the available projects.

 

Positions (General): All current positions (funded or unfunded) will be advertised here, on Ed’s linkedin or the lab bluesky account (@emmottlab.bsky.social), and through University recruitment as they become available. PhD student positions will also be advertised on findaphd.com.