An MRC-funded grant (“Blood- and saliva-based DNA methylation biomarkers of disease”) which will explore epigenetic biomarkers of organ ageing, proteins and disease. A 2-year post in statistical genetics under the supervision of Prof Matt Robinson (IST, Vienna) will also be announced in due course to complement the two Edinburgh-based posts.

The research project will utilise DNA methylation data from three large, Scottish studies across both blood and saliva (~35,000 samples in total). The researchers will:

• Build epigenetic biomarkers for 11 organ age estimates (see PMID: 38057571) and 10,000 proteins (see PMID: 41361833) using longitudinal data from 800 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.
• Test these biomarkers in a subset of 1,000 volunteers from Generation Scotland.
• Determine which biomarkers correlate across biosamples (blood and saliva)
• Apply the biomarkers to blood-based DNAm from 19,000 Generation Scotland volunteers and to saliva-based DNAm from 11,000 independent Generation Scotland volunteers before studying their associations with the incidence of 174 disease outcomes plus all-cause mortality.
• Build pipelines to replicate findings through two international consortia projects- GoDMC and DEEP.
• Develop and apply a novel multivariate GWA framework to identify the shared and unique SNP correlates of a measured protein and its DNAm analogue.
• Use summary-level bivariate associations between the omics layers (SNPs, CpGs, EpiScores and proteins) and disease outcomes to build graph models that identify age-specific causal pathways.

These posts are full-time (35 hours per week) and will be office-based for a minimum of 3 days a week. The research management team includes Riccardo Marioni, Simon Cox, Sarah Harris (Edinburgh), Matthew Robinson (IST, Vienna) Josine Min and Hannah Elliott (Bristol) alongside project partners Profs Tony Wyss-Coray (Stanford) and Dan Belsky (Columbia). Part-time or remote working arrangements are not possible.

Requirements

• PhD in molecular/epigenetic epidemiology.
• Outstanding track record of first author publications.
• Ability to mentor students/postdocs and to design and manage research projects.
• Excellent understanding of genetic/epigenetic epidemiology.
• Strong statistical analysis skills.

Click to view a copy of the full job description.

Responsibilities

• Build epigenetic biomarkers for 11 organ age estimates and 10,000 proteins.
• Test biomarkers in a subset of volunteers.
• Determine biomarker correlations across biosamples.
• Apply biomarkers to DNAm data and study associations with disease outcomes.
• Build pipelines to replicate findings through international consortia.
• Develop and apply a novel multivariate GWA framework.
• Use summary-level associations to build graph models identifying age-specific causal pathways.

Benefits

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options.

Application Process

Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:

• CV
• Cover letter

The closing date for applications is 16th March 2026. Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. Interviews will be held shortly after the closing date.

About The University of Edinburgh

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages. The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

Contact

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 16th March 2026. Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone. Interviews will be held shortly after the closing date.