Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Social Fluids Laboratory (https://leboeuflab.com) led by Dr Adria LeBoeuf in the Department of Zoology (https://www.bio.cam.ac.uk/staff/adria-leboeuf).

This position is part of a BBSRC-funded project on metabolic cooperation between bodies, investigating autophagy-mediated resource transfer in social insects. The project focuses on how organisms mobilise and package their own resources for transfer to others. Ants are a wonderful model clade with deeply intertwined social relationships between colony members underpinned by variable amounts of physical transfer of endogenously produced resources across species, making a clear parallel between the tissues or cells of a multicellular organism.

The successful candidate will combine molecular biology with functional validation in naturally evolved systems. You will develop and optimise CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing techniques, perform RNAi experiments, analyse multi-omic datasets (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics), and conduct behavioural and physiological experiments.

We seek a new team member who identifies as a molecular biologist/insect physiologist who is excited by weird biology and not afraid to get their hands dirty, both in the field, collecting ants in Madagascar, and at the bench, troubleshooting protocols in non-model organisms. Experience with CRISPR and RNAi in insects is essential. While primarily a wet-lab position, you should be comfortable with some bioinformatics analyses and data science of omics data.

This is a highly interdisciplinary role with significant opportunities to develop skills across fieldwork, molecular biology, physiology, behaviour, and bioinformatics. The Social Fluids Lab values creativity, interdisciplinarity, curiosity, collaboration, open science, and inclusiveness. We offer a supportive, team-oriented research environment with opportunities for international fieldwork, cutting-edge molecular techniques, and addressing fundamental questions about evolution and resource allocation.

Start date is flexible, ideally April 2026, with a latest start date of 1 June 2026.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 48 months in the first instance.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a health assessment.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to: Dr Adria LeBoeuf [email: acl79@cam.ac.uk]

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Paulina Lasocka [email: hr@zoo.cam.ac.uk]

Please quote reference PF48443 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Job Title: Research Assistant - Dynamic Baselines for Carbon Markets

Duration: Nine months of funding is available and the preferred start date for the role is February 2026.

About Us: The Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits (4C) is dedicated to using a digital approach to direct climate finance to where it is most needed. We're seeking a motivated individual to join our interdisciplinary team. If you have excellent critical thinking skills, experience in coding, and a passion for nature conservation, we want to hear from you.

The Role: As a Research Assistant, you will be part of a multidisciplinary team developing best practice approaches for measuring the impact of natural climate solutions, such as forest conservation and restoration. Your role involves developing and refining open-source algorithms to evaluate project impact and which can generate 'dynamic baselines' for issuing carbon credits. You will be working in a fast-paced research environment at the University of Cambridge with strong ties to carbon markets through the SHIFT-CM network, making the research highly applied. Your role includes collating pertinent data, developing software, running statistical analyses and presenting results in various formats.

Key Responsibilities:

• Produce and refine best practice guidance for implementing dynamic baselines
• Work closely with 4C's Head of Science and with stakeholders at SHIFT-CM to determine the analyses underpinning the best practice guidance
• Develop and refine 4C's open-source algorithms to produce dynamic baselines for natural climate solutions projects
• Evaluate project design documents meticulously, collating and curating pertinent data and narrative information
• Prepare reports for the centre's Head of Science and other stakeholders, facilitating the expansion of climate change mitigation through the conservation and restoration of nature

Project Background and Aims: Carbon credits are a vital mechanism for financing the conservation and restoration of natural habitats, mitigating global climate change, and protecting biodiversity. However, the adoption of nature-based carbon credits faces challenges due to the lack of objective, scalable, and transparent techniques. 4C and SHIFT-CM aim to address this by developing best practice guidelines for implementing dynamic baselines and unambiguously measure project impact.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Relevant Bachelors or Masters in science, or another quantitative / analytical subject
• A passion for nature in the context of solving the climate crises
• Ability to carefully and critically evaluate reports
• Proficiency in handling various data types, including tabular and geospatial data
• Computer programming experience including command line and statistical software such as R or Python
• An understanding of the principles of reproducible research methods (e.g. version control, GitHub)
• Experience with Geographic Information Systems
• Experience of statistical analysis and scientific writing
• Good organisation and time management skills
• A proactive approach to seeking guidance
• Ability to communicate research findings clearly in oral and written formats to collaborators and other members of the group

Applications are welcome from internal candidates who would like to apply for the role on the basis of a secondment from their current role in the University.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed to: Dr Tom Swinfield [email: tws36@cam.ac.uk]

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Paulina Lasocka [email: hr@zoo.cam.ac.uk]

Please quote reference PF48364 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

A Research Assistant/PhD Student position is available from 1 October 2026 for up to 48 months, to work with Professor Stephen Montgomery. This Research Assistant position would allow for the post holder also undertake a postgraduate course (PhD) at the University in Department of Zoology, located in Central Cambridge.

The RA-PhD Student will work on understanding the evolution of neural circuits association with a major expansion of the insect learning and memory centre, the mushroom bodies, in Heliconius butterflies. They will be part of a team of researchers with complementary expertise in bioinformatics, development and neuroscience, with opportunities for collaboration across the project while also pursuing their own objectives. They will have a dedicated training budget and a supportive and engaged supervision team.

This work will be undertaken as part of the recently awarded Wellcome Trust Discovery grant on the developmental control of neural cell number and type and will directly contribute towards the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) studies that the successful candidate will be enrolled in at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge.

Duties will include Development of species-specific protocols; Running experiments in the laboratory; Data collection, analysis and interpretation; Preparation of manuscripts for publication; Assistance in the maintenance of animal stocks and lab equipment; Co-supervision of project students working on related topics; Collaboration with team members

Essential skills: BSc/MSc. degree or equivalent in an appropriate subject (e.g. biological sciences, neuroscience, or similar), completed or completion imminent. Determination and enthusiasm to do research. Ability to work effectively and independently in a collaborative research team setting. Strong quantitative and analytical skills, fluency in English Excellent interpersonal and communication skills A commitment to open and inclusive science Enthusiasm to interact with colleagues.

An offer of employment will be conditional upon the candidate being formally accepted onto the PhD programme in Zoology. Candidates should apply for the PhD programme in Zoology via

The application deadline for the PhD programme is 14 January 2026.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 48 months.

We particularly welcome applications from women and/or candidates from a BME background for this vacancy.

Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online.

Informal enquiries are welcomed and should be directed to: Prof Stephen Montgomery [email: s.montgomery@bristol.ac.uk]

If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact Paulina Lasocka [email: pl585@cam.ac.uk]

Please quote reference PF47939 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.