Almost half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. These diseases are predominantly transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti and disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries. Dengue alone is estimated to cause around 390 million infections each year.
We want to help change that.
This Wellcome Trust-funded project aims to overcome a major bottleneck in the development of homing gene drive technology in Aedes aegypti: improving homing efficiency. Solving this challenge could enable the development of a new technology to control Aedes aegypti populations in a way that is effective, scalable, and affordable.
We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a strong can-do attitude who is excited by challenging science and motivated by the possibility of real-world impact. This is an opportunity to help build tools and systems that could contribute to the control of some of the world’s most important mosquito-borne diseases.
The nominal start date is October 2026, although this is negotiable. This is a full-time position.
The successful candidate will join a large and highly collaborative research group of around 30 researchers working on different aspects of insect synthetic biology within the Department of Biology. The group brings together a broad range of expertise and technical skills, creating an excellent environment for ambitious, interdisciplinary science. We value collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and the exchange of ideas across projects. The successful candidate will take primary responsibility for progressing the objectives of this project, while also having opportunities to contribute to related work within the group in a collaborative spirit.
The core aim of the project is to develop improved versions of homing gene drive systems in Aedes aegypti. This will involve designing, building, and testing new components, analysing their performance, troubleshooting challenges, and using the results to inform new designs.
A major part of the role will involve insect genetic studies, including the design and development of new transgenic and gene-edited mosquito strains, colony rearing and maintenance, phenotypic analysis, experimental design, and statistical analysis.
Additional responsibilities will include molecular biology work, such as assisting with the design and development of novel plasmids, preparing DNA for mosquito injections, molecular analysis of transgenic strains, and RNA-FISH. The successful candidate will also be expected to communicate progress and data clearly, contribute to manuscript preparation, and help train or supervise other staff and students where appropriate.
Because this is an ambitious and exploratory project, the role will offer significant opportunities to develop new skills, either in-house or through training in collaborators’ laboratories. The successful candidate will also be encouraged to contribute intellectually to the direction of the project as new challenges and opportunities emerge.
This position would suit someone who is excited by difficult problems, enjoys building and testing new biological systems, and wants their work to contribute to a technology with potential global health impact.
- PhD in a relevant biological science, or equivalent
- Knowledge of relevant research techniques and methodologies.
- Good communication skills, ability to write up research work for publication in high profile journals
- Experience of working with insects, preferably molecular/genetic approaches
- We will add the University’s Equality and Diversity statement to all advertisements
We are also advertising two other roles in the department they are Postdoctoral Research Associates (15165) and Postdoctoral Research fellow (grade 7) or Postdoctoral Research Associate (15164).
Interview date: to be confirmed
For informal enquiries: please contact Dr. Joshua Ang on [email protected]
The University strives to be diverse and inclusive – a place where we can ALL be ourselves.
We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic background, who are underrepresented at the University.
We offer family friendly, flexible working arrangements, with forums and inclusive facilities to support our staff. #EqualityatYork
As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum (essential) criteria for each position will be offered an interview. Read more about the University of York’s commitments under the Disability Confident scheme.
