Job Description

Are you an ambitious post-doctoral researcher with an interest in appetite and energy balance? Do you want to be part of a large inter-disciplinary research project examining how changes in appetite, energy intake and energy expenditure oppose weight loss? Do you have a background in human nutrition or physiology, exercise science or physical activity, psychology, or another health-related discipline? 

This is an exciting opportunity for two ambitious and motivated individuals to work on a four-year research project, funded by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (PI; Dr Mark Hopkins), examining how changes in human appetite, energy intake and energy expenditure oppose dietary-induced weight loss. The project will integrate measures of whole-body and tissue-organ composition and energy expenditure with physiological and psychological measures of appetite, and free-living energy balance tracking technology will be used to measure energy intake and expenditure outside of the laboratory. We are looking for individuals with experience of conducting health-related research in humans. The successful candidates will be responsible for the management of day-to-day research activities, including participant recruitment, data collection, quantitative data analysis, manuscript writing, and outcome dissemination. 

There are two posts available, and the ideal candidates will have knowledge and experience of body composition, physical activity and/or energy expenditure (e.g., accelerometers or indirect calorimetry), appetite or food intake, or psychological and behavioural measures of health in humans. Experience of collecting and processing biological samples such as urine or blood (e.g., venepuncture or cannulation) in humans is also desirable, as is experience of analysing complex quantitative data.

The project will be led by Dr. Mark Hopkins in the School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, but will work closely with members of the Appetite Control & Energy Balance research group (Prof. James Stubbs). The successful candidates will work with the project PI (Dr. Mark Hopkins) to develop their own research area within the broader objectives of the project, generating and pursuing original research ideas where appropriate. They will be supported in their development with tailored personal development plans that focus on the skills and experience needed to progress their chosen career paths.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Dr Mark Hopkins, Associate Professor of Nutritional Physiology  

Email: [email protected]