Postdoctoral Research Associate

A postdoctoral Research Associate post is available in the Cichlid Eco-Evo-Devo Group directed by Dr Emília Santos in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

The applicant will work on PredictingSPOTS, a recently awarded ERC Consolidator Grant investigating the genomic and developmental basis of colour pattern diversification and convergence in East African cichlid fishes. The project combines genetic mapping, spatial and single-cell transcriptomics, and data-driven mathematical modelling to understand how genomic and developmental mechanisms shape trait evolution. The post will focus on egg-spots, a sexually selected pigmentation pattern that has evolved repeatedly and independently across cichlid radiations, offering a tractable system to test whether convergent phenotypes arise through shared or independent developmental paths.

Principal Aim

The principal aim for this post is to map the transcriptomic and regulatory basis of egg-spot development and its convergent evolution across a panel of cichlid species, combining spatial transcriptomics and single-nuclei RNA-seq/ATAC-seq with gene regulatory network inference. Strong bioinformatics/computational skills and demonstrable experience analysing high-throughput sequencing data will be essential, as will strong quantitative and statistical reasoning. Experience with spatial transcriptomics, single-nuclei sequencing, or gene regulatory network inference -including machine learning approaches to network or enhancer prediction - is highly desirable, as is a background in evolutionary developmental biology. Candidates will also have the opportunity to test predictions arising from this work using genome editing, in collaboration with the group's Research Laboratory Technician, and to contribute directly to the project's mathematical modelling if interested, though this is not an essential requirement of the role.