Research Fellow (Bioinformatician), Medicine, Medical Sciences & Nutrition (IMS335R)

Job Description

This is a 5-year post, funded through a British Heart Foundation Program Grant to explore the unique mechanistic patho-physiology of the strongest psycho-somatic interaction known in medicine. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (or ‘broken heart syndrome’) is an acute cardiac emergency which predominantly affects women (90%) and is triggered by a precipitant episode of stress. Despite non-obstructed coronary arteries there is severe heart dysfunction, and although the heart function 'normalises' shortly afterwards, these patients have reduced long-term survival. Although stress is on the rise for everyone, only a minority develop takotsubo cardiomyopathy for any given stress. This implies that affected individuals have an intrinsic predisposition or exposure susceptibility.

Responsibilities

• Join the dynamic Cardiology research group within the Faculty of Medicine, headed by Professor Dana Dawson.
• Work closely with cardiovascular scientists, immunologists and clinical colleagues.
• Build on previous work on the role and extent of immune responses in acute takotsubo cardiomyopathy patients.
• Work with a senior computational biology team comprised of Dr. Michael Morgan and Dr. Elaina Collie-Duguid in Aberdeen and Dr. Kelvin Tuong in Australia.
• Contribute to understanding the full pathway in which takotsubo cardiomyopathy is triggered and unfolds.
• Use next generation sequencing as an essential platform for delivering the required data for analyses, including immunity, inflammation and thrombo-inflammation with data from multi-omic profiling of circulating immune cells, spatial transcriptomics and genomic datasets.

Requirements

The appointee will be part of a translational team and work closely with cardiovascular scientists, immunologists and clinical colleagues. It is hoped that together, the group will provide the leap of science required to understand the full pathway in which this disease is triggered and unfolds.

Qualifications

• Strong quantitative skills.
• Prior knowledge of immunology is a real advantage.

Skills

• Programming skills.
• Experience with next generation sequencing.
• Knowledge of multi-omic profiling of circulating immune cells, spatial transcriptomics and genomic datasets.

Benefits

Salary will be at the appropriate point on the Grade 6 scale, £38,784 - £46,049 per annum, pro rata and negotiable with placement according to qualifications and experience.

Pay

£38,784 - £46,049 per annum, pro rata and negotiable with placement according to qualifications and experience.

Schedule

Full Time.

Benefits

Not specified.

Application

To apply online for this position visit www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs. Job Reference Number: IMS335R. The closing date for the receipt of applications is 8 October 2026. Please Note: If you are unable to complete an application online, please contact the Recruitment Team (HRRecruitment@abdn.ac.uk) to make alternative arrangements for submitting your application within plenty of time before the advertised post closes.