Postdoctoral position – Environmental Engineering, 1 FTE, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 011705
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full time, fixed term position as a Postdoctoral researcher with Microbiology/Ryan institute at the University of Galway, Ireland.
This position is funded by the Global Methane Hub and is available from May 2026 to contract end date of May 2028.
Understanding and manipulating electron flow is in the rumen is critically important to reducing methane emissions from ruminants. The Global Methane Hub's (GMH) Enteric Fermentation Accelerator is funding a groundbreaking study on advancing the science behind methane production, electron flow, and its connection to animal productivity. Specifically in this role the potential contribution of Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer (DIET) to methane formation in the rumen will be investigated using approaches adopted from the field of environmental engineering in combination with rumen microbiology. The effects of conductive additives on methane production in in vitro experiments will help identify putative electroactive microbial taxa. In addition, rumen microbial communities will be inoculated into microbial fuel cells and microbial electrosynthesis cells to enrich electron donating and electron accepting microorganisms. Subsequently, novel isolation procedures will be used to isolate electroactive organisms in order to study them further in pure and co-culture. The work will contribute to this wider programme by determining whether direct interspecies electron transfer contributes to methane formation using conductive additives, microbial electrochemical technologies and via isolation and characterisation of direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET)-capable microbes.
Salary: Postdoctoral Researcher salary scale €46,805 - €59,654 per annum, (subject to the project’s funding limitations), and pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts.
The default position for all new public sector appointments is the 1st point of the salary scale. This may be reviewed, and consideration afforded to appointment at a higher point on the payscale (subject to the project’s funding limitations), where evidence of prior years’ equivalent experience is accepted in determining placement on the scale above point 1, subject to the maximum of the scale.
(Research Salary Scales - University of Galway)
Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on 10th April, 2026. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.
*Please review full job description for further details and essential requirement