Research Fellow

About the Role

The School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast seek to appoint an exceptional Research Fellow to join the AMR and One Health Lab and Huws Group. Working within a multidisciplinary team, the appointee will support PUREMILK, a BBSRC Follow-on Fund project focused on the formulation and pre-clinical preparation of novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for treating bovine mastitis.

The postholder will support the development, optimisation, quality control and preparation of intramammary AMP formulations for pre-clinical and clinical mastitis studies, ensuring preparations are characterised and meet standards for transfer to project partners. Working with Queen's project leads and partners at the Moredun Research Institute and RAFT Solutions, they will prepare, test and document formulations for evaluation in bovine mastitis models and partner-led studies.

Activities include formulation preparation, sterility assessment, stability testing, rheological profiling, physicochemical characterisation, compatibility testing and formulation data preparation for reports, publications, intellectual property protection, regulatory engagement and commercial development. Excellent organisational and communication skills are essential. Priority will be given to candidates with expertise in pharmaceutical or biochemical formulation science and demonstrable experience in peptide or antimicrobial compound development, antimicrobial formulation, pharmaceutical microbiology, peptide therapeutics, drug delivery or related areas.

The postholder will support commercial milestones by engaging with farmers and scientists, contributing to freedom-to-operate checks, preparing data for patent filing and Veterinary Medicines Directorate submission, and supporting licensing discussions. The role will ensure AMP formulations are fit for partner and regulatory testing, supporting sustainable dairy production and healthy animals and people.

About the Person

The successful candidate must have, and your application should clearly demonstrate that you meet the following essential criteria:

• Applicants must hold, or be about to be awarded, a PhD, preferably in pharmaceutical science, formulation science, antimicrobial therapeutics or microbiology, or a related discipline with a strong microbiology component Significant relevant research experience must include :
• Experience of antimicrobial or pharmaceutical formulation development and quality control.
• Demonstrable laboratory experience relevant to microbiology and formulation science, specifically peptide handling, sterile formulation preparation, and physicochemical characterisation.
• Experience of using analytical tools and software relevant to formulation science, such as HPLC data analysis, spectroscopy, or particle sizing software.
• Experience of designing, developing or refining experimental methodologies to generate reliable and reproducible data.
• Ability to maintain detailed and accurate laboratory records, formulation records and experimental documentation and ability to assess and organise resources.

To be successful at shortlisting stage, please ensure you clearly evidence in your application how you meet the essential and, where applicable, desirable criteria listed in the Candidate Information document on our website.

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