Principal Investigator

Opportunities for Career Development & Established Principal Investigators to join the Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee.
The Division of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology (MCDB) seeks to appoint talented group leaders at any career stage. Our Division investigates molecular mechanisms that underpin cell and tissue biology in development and disease. This includes gene regulation, epigenetics, cell division, membrane biology and tissue morphogenesis. We work collaboratively and support our research through establishment of shared facilities including proteomics, microscopy, cryo-EM, computational biology, cell sorting and human pluripotent cell culture ( We are particularly interested in recruiting groups using human tissue and organoid models to investigate fundamental molecular and cellular mechanisms.
Successful candidates will join the Division at an exciting time of expansion providing the opportunity to contribute to our future direction. This recruitment is part of the School of Life Sciences’ wider research strategy aimed at recruiting up to 45 research Group Leaders/Principal Investigators over the next 5-year period across all molecular life sciences research. Career development PIs enter a Tenure Track Programme, including a customised mentoring scheme, leading to tenure assessment at 5-6 years. We are also keen to attract researchers with an interest in broader research leadership.
The Division is located within the School of Life Sciences ( comprised of around 70 research groups and nearly 800 staff and doctoral students from over 50 countries worldwide. Our research income is around £45M per annum. The school’s research is rated highly for the quality and impact (top ranked university for Biological Sciences in the UK).
Applicants are asked to apply on the University of Dundee job vacancy site and upload 3 documents as part of their application:
• 1-page cover letter outlining how your research synergises with our existing strengths, and outlining what skills, attributes and expertise you would bring more broadly to the School (e.g. in teaching, research culture, commercialisation, translation, training etc).
• CV
• 4-page research proposal broadly describing current and future research goals
Candidates will be considered on a rolling basis as applications are received.
We welcome informal enquires that can be directed to members of the MCDB management team: Tom Owen-Hughes (#####), Jens Januschke (#####), Liz Miller (#####), or Tomo Tanaka (#####).
The Division is proud of its positive research culture which provides a dynamic environment supporting all to flourish. We are strong supporters of Open Research as signatories of DORA and are ranked 2nd in the World for our Open Access research (CWTS Leiden Ranking 2023). We are committed to providing an inclusive and diverse environment. We particularly encourage applications from those that are currently underrepresented in research, including black and minority ethnic (BME) and those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
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