Job Description
Full time, fixed term (24 months)
Closing date - 23:59 1 March 2026
Inteview date - tbc
By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Medieval Green Revolution project, funded by the European Research Council (MEDGREENREV), which is investigating the relationship between environmental and cultural transformations during the medieval period in the Western Mediterranean. Alongside the University of Reading, the project consortium is led by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Granada and the University of York, in partnership with UCL, the University of Basel, the University of Valencia and University of Murcia.
We are seeking a highly motivated Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to join our research team at Reading, focusing on sedimentary DNA (sedaDNA / environmental DNA) from soils and sediments from the project’s case study regions in Spain and North Africa. You will contribute to the reconstruction of past landscapes and human-environment interactions through the analysis of sedimentary DNA. This includes analysing samples from terraces, irrigated fields and archaeological sites, and using eDNA metagenomics and metabarcoding approaches for multi-species detection, with the aim of characterising changing plant and animal species diversity and richness over time. The position will involve fieldwork, laboratory work, data analysis, and collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, palaeoecologists and historians.
This is a joint post with the University of Reading (UoR) and the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London and is funded for two years.
You will be supported in your own career development while also contributing to the development of the unique partnership between the UoR and the NHM. In particular, you will contribute to the building of innovative research in archaeological science within the Department of Archaeology at the UoR, working in close collaboration with the NHM where the DNA analysis will be carried out.
Contact details for advert
Contact Name: Aleks Pluskowski
Contact Job Title: Reading PI of Medgreenrev
Contact Email address: a.g.pluskowski@reading.ac.uk
Alternative Contact Name: Selina Brace
Alternative Contact Job Title: Director of aDNA laboratory at the NHM
Alternative Contact Email address: s.brace@nhm.ac.uk
The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality. We are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2). Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.
