A postdoctoral Research Associate post is available with Professor Stephen Montgomery's Research Group in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

This position is part of a recently awarded Wellcome Trust Discovery grant on the developmental control of neural cell number and type. The applicant will work on understanding the evolution of neural circuits associated with a major expansion of the insect learning and memory centre, the mushroom bodies, in Heliconius butterflies.

The principal aim for this post is to develop methodologies to map and analyse, whole brain projectomes, quantifying patterns of connectivity and cell morphologies across closely related species with divergent neural morphologies. The approach may include a combination of spatial transcriptomics, immunohistochemistry, and nanotomography. A very strong background in quantitative analysis and established skills in bioimaging and/or molecular biology will be essential, and prior experience with, or demonstrable interest in, insect neurobiology is highly desirable.

The successful candidate will join a productive and supportive team based in Zoology, alongside researchers with complementary expertise in bioinformatics, development, neuroscience and behaviour. There will be opportunities for collaboration across the project, and close teamwork and a collaborative spirit will be essential. The successful applicant will also be expected to demonstrate scientific independence matching their technical expertise while perusing their own, specific objectives. There will be opportunities to contribute to training new team members and to general project management, as well as to participate in public engagement and community-orientated activities. The successful applicant will have a dedicated training budget and a supportive and engaged supervision team.

For more information, please refer to the Further Particulars document.

Deadline for applications is midnight, 7 June 2026. Interviews are due to be conducted in the week commencing 6 July 2026 (subject to change)

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

Flexible working arrangements will be considered.

We particularly welcome applications from women and candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in 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 welcomed and should be directed to: Professor Stephen Monthomery [email: shm37@cam.ac.uk]

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

Please quote reference PF49578 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 1st October 2026 for up to 40 months, in the Bivalve Transmissible Neoplasia Group at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge. This Research Assistant position would allow the post holder to undertake a postgraduate course (PhD) at the University in the Department of Zoology, located in Central Cambridge.

The RA/PhD Student will work on understanding the causes and consequences of extreme chromosomal instability and karyotypic variation in bivalve transmissible cancers. They will be part of a team of researchers with complementary expertise in bioinformatics, cell biology and evolutionary biology, 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 a grant on the genetics and evolution of marine transmissible cancers, 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
• - Continuing to update knowledge and develop skills
• - Co-supervision of project students working on related topics
• - Collaboration with team members

Essential skills include:

• - Strong background in computational and mathematical biology
• - Demonstrable proficiency in scientific coding in Python and R, including manipulation of large biological data sets
• - Demonstrable experience in computational analysis of allele segregation, duplication and recombination dynamics
• - Demonstrable experience in computational analysis of chromosome missegregation dynamics
• - Demonstrable experience in analysis of somatic mutation data, including modelling of variant allele fractions and mutational spectra
• - Demonstrable experience in genome annotation, pan-genome analysis and network analysis
• - Demonstrable experience in epidemiological modelling of host pathogen interactions in relation to clinical outcomes
• - Demonstrable knowledge of modelling methods including Markov chain Monte Carlo, clustering and generalised linear mixed models
• - Demonstrable knowledge of the transmissible cancer field and enthusiasm about translating mechanistic insights

For more information, please refer to the Further Particulars document.

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 https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/blzopdzoo

Deadline for applications is midnight (GMT) on 15 May 2026. Interviews are due to be conducted during the week commencing 1 June 2026 (subject to change).

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 40 months in the first instance.

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

We particularly welcome applications from women and candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in 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 welcomed and should be directed to: Dr Adrian Baez-Ortega [email: ab2324@cam.ac.uk]

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

Please quote reference PF49560 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.

The University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge is seeking a full-time, fixed-term Collections Assistant (Projects) to support a major collections move programme.

The Museum of Zoology is part of the Department of Zoology and is home to a collection designated as being of national and international importance. We are currently undertaking a significant relocation project for collections and labs housed in a nearby building. You will be working alongside the Collections Team supporting all collections management and collections care functions with particular focus on the safe movement of specimens into dedicated stores in our David Attenborough Building and reconfiguration of these stores to accommodate these collections. You should have practical collections management and care experience including documentation, packing and storage experience.

This is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience as part of a fast-paced, cross-disciplinary team, working across a wide range of natural history collections. For more information, please refer to the Further Particulars.

The working pattern is 36.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday. Based on the site.

Deadline for applications is midnight on 17 May 2026. Interviews are due to be conducted week commencing 25 May 2026 (subject to change)

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for up to 18 months.

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a basic disclosure (criminal records check) check, a health assessment and a security check.

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.

We particularly welcome applications from women and candidates from a BME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in 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 welcomed and should be directed to: Melissa Colin (Senior Collections Lead) [email: mc2628@cam.ac.uk]

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

Please quote reference PF49356 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.