Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job title Postdoctoral Research Associate

Department Life Sciences

Salary Starting from £38,784, rising to £46,049

Grade Grade 7

Contract Type Full Time, Fixed Term

Placed on Friday 20 February 2026

Closing date Wednesday 18 March 2026

Interview date Monday 30 March 2026

Reference SS13438

Guidance for International Applicants

Postdoctoral Research Associate

The Tooke Lab ( researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/persons/catherine-too... ) is seeking to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on work on a highly interdisciplinary project addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The position is offered on a 24-month contract with the potential to extend for an additional 12-months. Blended and flexible working arrangements will be considered. The position is available to start as soon as possible.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a huge burden to both global health and economy. Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is a top 3 pathogen for AMR related deaths worldwide and classed as critical priority for which new antibiotics are urgently required (WHO).

?-Lactams, the most prescribed antibiotic class worldwide, kill bacteria by binding and inhibiting Penicillin Binding Proteins (PBPs). ?-Lactam resistance can be conferred by ?-lactamases (BLAs), enzymes evolutionarily related to PBPs that inactivate the antibiotics, threatening their continued clinical efficacy.

The Tooke Lab aims to elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing PBP and BLA function, inhibition, and resistance evolution in K. pneumoniae. We adopt an integrated approach spanning microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology, and biomolecular simulation, with access to state-of-the-art structural methods, including time-resolved crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs).

This role offers exceptional training at the interface of experimental and computational biology, within a supportive and collaborative research environment.

This project is highly collaborative and interdisciplinary, combining:

• Molecular biology (cloning, generating plasmid constructs for recombinant protein expression)
• Microbiology (MIC determination and checkerboard assays)
• Biochemistry (protein purification and enzyme kinetics)
• Structural biology (primarily protein crystallography (including time-resolved crystallography at XFELS) with the additional potential for some cryo-EM on suitable targets.)
• Computational chemistry (biomolecular simulation)

To 1) Identify how inhibitors optimally bind to PBP/BLA targets. And 2) Understand (and predict) resistance determinants (BLA production, BLA evolution and the further possibility for PBP modifications contributing to reductions in antibiotic susceptibility and resistance).

About you

The successful candidate should possess:

• PhD in Biochemistry, Microbiology, Chemical Biology, Chemistry or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrated expertise with recombinant protein expression, purification and crystallisation.
• Hands-on experience with X-ray crystallography from crystals through to data collection and data processing.
• Proficiency and familiarity with biomolecular simulations (Molecular dynamics or higher-level calculations) of proteins in AMBER (or another similar simulations package).
• Active interest in AMR, antibiotic drug discovery and pathogen biology research.

Additional expectations:

• Strong organisational, communication, and teamwork skills
• Ability to work independently and solve problems proactively
• Willingness to supervise and train junior lab members
• Some laboratory management responsibilities will be included

Further Information

As a member of Research Staff at the University of Bath, you will be encouraged to take up a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata per year.

For informal queries please contact Dr Catherine Tooke at clt81bath.ac.uk.

A lower grade offer may be made (Grade 6) with comparable reduction in responsibilities and amendment in job title to Research Assistant, if a suitable applicant cannot be found to fill the Grade 7 position. Applicants will need to be within six months of their course completion date and will be promoted to Research Associate once their PhD has been awarded.

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds, and communities, particularly from under-represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment.

We’re very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant . an accredited Disability Confident Leader ; autism friendly university , committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff .

What we can offer you

We’re continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

• Free counselling services through Health Assured
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff discounts on postgraduate tuition fees
• Staff discount on language courses
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days so that you can enjoy a positive work life balance
• A wide range of personal and professional development opportunities including Apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning and more
• Free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• Local discounts and more
• A family-friendly workplace
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• Relocation allowance
• Visa reimbursement and Interest-Free Loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses

Find out more about our benefits and watch the video to hear from our staff about what makes the University of Bath a great place to work as well as following us and .

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Further details:

• Job Description & Person Specification

Terms and Conditions of Employment

Right to Work in the UK: We do not assess immigration or right to work status until offer stage. Being invited to interview does not guarantee you are eligible for visa sponsorship and all offers are conditional on meeting right to work requirements. Further information is available on our application support webpage.

Anonymous shortlisting: We are constantly seeking to reduce the unconscious bias that enters any assessment process, with the goal of creating an inclusive and equal assessment process. To support this, personal details such as your name, may be removed from application forms at the initial shortlisting stage.