drawing The Whelan lab is located in the Michael Smith building on the University of Manchester campus in Manchester, UK. We are part of the School of Biological Sciences and Division of Evolution, Infection, and Genomics (EIGEN). The Whelan lab is an activate member of the Microbial Evolution Research at Manchester (MERMan) group, a collective of 14 PIs and >50 research staff who are colocalized in high-end laboratory facilities and form a thriving, collaborative research environment.




Join us!

Current open positions in our group:

PDRA

early 2026 start, 2.3-year position

This soon-to-be advertised Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position is funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship and open to both UK nationals and international candidates. This position is for a bioinformatic/dry-lab candidate who will develop new software and conduct analyses on microbial assocation network data generated from metagenomic sequencing of the cystic fibrosis lung microbiome. The opening and closing dates for this position are TBA; check back here for more details in the coming weeks.




PDRA

late 2025/early 2026 start, 1-year position

This Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position is funded by a Cystic Fibrosis Canada Early Career Investigator award to Dr Fabrice Jean-Pierre. The PDRA will be a bioinformatician interested in comparative genomics of clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.




PhD STUDENTSHIP

autumn 2026 start

As a member of the MRC CoRE in Exposome Immunology, we are seeking an individual with interest and/or experience in human microbiome research and how the microbiome interacts and influences the host immune system under different environmental stressors. For more information and to apply, please visit findaphd.com. Application deadline: 2 December 2025.







If you are interested in positions within the Lab, email Fiona your CV, and a short statement of interest.

The Whelan lab would be honoured to host applications to The British Academy's Fellowships for Researchers at Risk programme. If you work on anything vaguely related to our Research interests, please get in touch- I would be happy to help guide the submission of an application.

Additionally, we are always interested in individuals who would like to apply for scholarships or fellowships. Some options of funding opportunities follow:

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The Whelan lab circa summer 2025.

Postdoctoral Fellowships:

Doctoral/Postgraduate Fellowships: