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Key contacts

Head of School

Lindy Holden-Dye

Deputy Head of School, Research and Enterprise

Matthew Terry

Deputy Head of School, Education

Alan Marchant

Director of Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise

Claire Clarkin

Director of Graduate Programmes

Herman Wijnen

Chair of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Judith Lock

Senior Technical Manager

Rachel Fitzearle

Senior Administrator,

Fatima Matin

Organisational framework

The University of Southampton is organised around five Faculties. The School of Biological Sciences sits in the Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences along with the Schools of Psychology, Health Sciences, Ocean and Earth Sciences, and Geography and Environmental Sciences led by the Dean, Tamar Pincus. The School of Biological Sciences has extensive reach across the University with more than 75% of its research activity in collaboration with other Schools and Faculties and with strong links to medicine, chemistry, engineering and environmental science.

Biosciences at Southampton is expanding thanks to significant new investment from the University as it implements its forward-looking and ambitious new strategy for growth with quality. The vision is encapsulated by the symbol of the triple helix in which world-leading research, enterprise and education are intertwined and enabled by a deep-seated commitment to develop and support the people who make it happen.

Our School of Biological Sciences is perfectly aligned with this strategy.

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Our Home

Biological Sciences’ home is the award winning Life Sciences Building on the Highfield Campus. We moved into the building in 2010 and it provides superb, large, shared laboratories and specialist facilities that are well served by an expert team of pool technicians. We have core facilities that are equipped and supported by the School as follows: Proteomics, Invertebrate Facility, sequencing, media kitchen, protein production, tissue and cell culture, environmentally controlled rooms, glass houses and plant growth rooms, imaging and microscopy and a biomolecular core facility. We also have access to the Biomedical Research Facility and the Biomedical Imaging Unit and other facilities at the University Hospital Southampton campus.

We also have labs at the University Hospital Southampton campus for colleagues working in close proximity with clinicians and who require access to the Biomedical Research Facility. They are distributed between the South Academic Block, the new Centre for Cancer Immunology and the Institute for Developmental Sciences.

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Our research and enterprise

Our research and enterprise – We are proud of our achievements in biological sciences research and enterprise with an excellent REF2021 outcome for UoA5 that places us 9th in the UK for research impact. World-leading expertise in molecular and cellular biosciences, with cross-cutting capability for systems biology, ‘omics technologies and bioinformatics, underpins groupings addressing shared research questions. This is highly inter-connected with shared interests beyond the School through pro-active participation in the broader University Life Sciences Strategy, through strategic co-location of expertise e.g., for data-driven biology, for chemical biology, for ‘omics and informatics, and through our core membership of the Institute for Life Sciences. Collaborative ways of working are actively facilitated and supported. Leadership for the School’s research is provided through these six overlapping themes:

Cell and Developmental Biology

Lead: Nullin Divecha contact: nd1m13@soton.ac.uk

Ecology and Evolution

Lead: Becky Morris contact: rjm1v16@soton.ac.uk

Microbiology

Lead: Sandra Wilks contact: saw3@soton.ac.uk

Molecular and Precision Bioscience

Lead: Max Crispin contact: max.crispin@soton.ac.uk

Neuroscience

Lead: Jessica Teeling contact: j.teeling@soton.ac.uk

Plants and Food Security

Lead: Mark Chapman contact: m.chapman@soton.ac.uk

Computational expertise cuts across and underpins all these themes. Individual members of staff are aligned with one primary theme but may also participate in the activity of further subsidiary themes. 


Our education

Inspired by our ethos for research-led education  undergraduate  degree programmes in Biology, Zoology, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences consistently rank in the top three of the Russell Group for student satisfaction.  We are proud that all our degrees are Royal Society of Biology accredited. We have a dynamic cohort of postgraduates with Masters degrees in Neuroscience, Big Data Biology, Evolution in the 21st Century, Advanced Biological Sciences and Wildlife Conservation. We host the prestigious BBSRC South Coast Biosciences Doctoral Training Partnership in collaboration with the Universities of Portsmouth, Sussex and Kent and with NIAB East Malling and this, together with funding from NERC Inspire, the MRC, and the NBIC Collaborative Training Partnership (CTP) underpins a vibrant postgraduate community.

Our people

The School is deeply committed to the University ambition for an inclusive culture where everyone feels they belong and can be successful. We received a renewal of our Athena Silver Swan in 2022 and implement a number of local strategies to improve inclusion e.g., meeting free Fridays, core hours of 10 am until 4 pm and no agenda meetings with staff groups to provide a line for dialogue and continued improvement. The University is a recent recipient of the Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, the Mental Health Charter, is a Disability Confident Leader, is a signatory to the Technician Commitment and the Concordat for Development of Researchers (HR Excellent Award Holder). 

NEW FACULTY POSITIONS IN THE SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES for 2023


We are seeking to appoint to five Faculty positions that will grow our portfolio for biological sciences research within the remit of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and enhance our curriculum of research-led education. These are the second phase in a series of 11 new appointments and you will have an exciting opportunity to influence the life sciences agenda at the University of Southampton, ranked in the top 100 in the QS World Rankings

You will be passionate about research and education, get satisfaction from making a positive difference in the world and want to work in a diverse and welcoming workplace at a world-leading University. You may be looking to take the first steps in establishing your academic career or looking for an opportunity to take it to the next level in an area that aligns with disciplines of microbial systems, cell biology, plant/organism interactions or their interface. You will have the opportunity for synergy with our research that spans microbiology, virology, glycobiology, structural biology, neuroscience, developmental biology, ecology, evolution, plants and food security. We are particularly interested in growing our portfolio in systems biology and complex data analytics under the banner of ‘Precision Biosciences’. We host the prestigious National Biofilms Innovation Centrethe Centre for Proteomic Research and the BBSRC SoCoBio DTP and are integral to the Institute for Life Sciences which fosters interdisciplinary research. We deliver fantastic education and are consistently in the top two Russell Group Universities for student satisfaction (2019, 2020, 2021). We have close alliances with the Schools of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Psychology, Health Sciences, Geography and Environmental Sciences and the National Oceanography Centre Southampton and with the Faculty of Medicine including the newly established Centre for Cancer Immunology

For all posts, you will demonstrate a passion for education and an ability to enhance our undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum in the life sciences.

Strong applicants should demonstrate:

  • a doctorate and postdoctoral experience in a relevant discipline
  • ability to obtain peer-reviewed funding 
  • evidence of distinction in research through high-quality publications
  • ability for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching
  • commitment to improving equality, diversity and inclusion through new initiatives in research and education

We are looking to make appointments at different levels of seniority from Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor, salary range £40,931 to £51,805) Associate Professor (salary range £53,353 to £67,060) to Professor (maximum 2, starting salary £70,119).

For all the positions interviews will take place in person in Southampton as indicated. Southampton is well connected – just over one hour from central London and with its own international airport. 

Find out more about the University, the city of Southampton, and its beautiful surroundings on the south coast and the New Forest here

If you are interested or need advice about your suitability to the posts, the timing of the appointments or information about the post details, you are warmly encouraged to contact the Head of School, Professor Lindy Holden-Dye for further details lmhd@soton.ac.uk 44 (0) 2380599006. 

We value diversity and equality and actively encourage applications from under-represented groups. We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and proud to hold an institutional and departmental Athena SWAN silver award. We are delighted to be holders of the Race Equality Charter Bronze Award, 2022. We recognise that employees may wish to have working patterns that fit with their caring responsibilities or work-life balance. Due consideration will be given to applicants who have had career breaks for reasons including maternity, paternity or adoption leave, disability or illness.  If you would like to find out more about our practical support for inclusion our Chair Equality Diversity and Inclusion Group, Dr Judith Lock, would be pleased to help you jel2u09@soton.ac.uk

 

The post descriptors are not comprehensive- if you are unsure if you fit, you are welcome to enquire through the contacts above. 

Application procedure: You should submit your completed online application form at www.jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. Please include details for up to three referees and your full CV. (n.b. the role of ‘Lecturer’ is equivalent to ‘Assistant Professor’).

Five Faculty positions (Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor) in molecular biosciences encompassing microbial systems, advanced cell biology and plant organism interactions


Closing Date: Feb 13th, 2023

Interview Date: March 20th– April 25th, 2023

Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor in Microbial Systems

You will have a research profile in microbial systems and add synergy and/or a new dimension to our thriving research in this area. There are a broad range of research questions that could be addressed using this approach from the role of the microbiome in agriculture to the role of our own microbiome in immunology and mental health. We are especially interested
in research questions related to biofilms and complex data analytics.

Apply

Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor in Plant-Organism Interactions

The interaction of plants with other organisms has a major impact in areas such as food security where pests and pollinators are both critical determinants of crop productivity: You will have a research profile on a topic that speaks to this challenge to food security. The School is exceptionally well-equipped for this work with a dedicated Plant Growth Facility and licensed Invertebrate Facility, both with environmentally controlled rooms.

Apply

Lecturer/Associate Professor/Professor in Advanced Cell Biology

You will have a research profile in cell biology combining skills in advanced imaging, complex data analysis and experimental biology to address important biological questions within the BBSRC remit in animals, plants or microbes.

Apply

Three Faculty positions, Lecturer (Assistant Professor)/Associate Professor in ecology, microbiology and pharmacology


Closing Date: February 6th, 2023

Interview Date: March 13th- April 17th, in person

Lecturer/Associate Professor in Microbiology

(Salary: £40,931 – £67,060)

You will join our thriving research in microbial systems. There are a broad range of research questions that could be addressed using this approach from the role of the microbiome in agriculture to the role of our own microbiome in immunology and mental health: We are especially interested in research questions related to biofilms, but other areas will be

Apply

Lecturer/Associate Professor in Ecology

(Salary: £40,931 – £67,060)

You may have ecological interests in any of the following: land-use change, food systems, and/or sustainability, using spatial modelling, field experiments, and/or molecular techniques. We are interested in enhancing current strengths in tropical and temperate human-modified landscapes, agroecosystems and food security, biogeography, and remote sensing but we

Apply

Lecturer/Associate Professor in Pharmacology

(Salary: £40,931 – £67,060).

Your research will bring pharmacological expertise that dovetails with our interests, for example in infection biology, virology, neuroscience, toxicology and cell biology. We are especially interested in candidates using pharmacogenetic, computational approaches and/or molecular modelling but welcome applications from pharmacologists bringing a new dimension to our portfolio.

Apply