Postdoctoral Researcher – Rapid Pathogen Detection – Molecular Assay Development

Rapid detection of pathogenic infections in aquaculture enables effective disease‑management practices to be implemented. However, current diagnostic methods are largely confined to laboratory settings and rely on labour‑intensive, time‑consuming protocols. Reliable point‑of‑care devices are currently lacking within the fish‑health sector, yet such tools would enable rapid responses to infectious agents and greatly improve treatment outcomes.

 

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join our multidisciplinary team developing novel molecular diagnostics for the rapid detection of viral and bacterial pathogens. This role focuses on the end‑to‑end design, optimisation, and validation of pathogen‑specific Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) assays, including sample‑to‑answer workflow development and the integration of these assays into lateral‑flow diagnostic platforms.

 

The successful candidate will contribute to the full assay‑development pipeline—from target identification and primer/probe design, through laboratory optimisation and analytical validation, to in‑field testing and performance evaluation at aquaculture sites. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to next‑generation point‑of‑care tools that will directly support rapid pathogen detection and improved disease management in aquaculture.

 

The successful candidate will be expected to take up the role as soon as possible.