Welcome to the McInerney Lab Website

The McInerney Research group at School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham uses high-performance computing approaches, software and algorithm development, large datasets and cutting edge approaches in order to answer fundamental questions about the evolution of life on the planet.

What do we work on?

Unseen to the naked eye is a vast network of life – a network where genetic material is shared, not only between parents and their offspring, but between organisms that might not even be particularly closely related. We know this network exists, but we are less sure of what structures it and what roles it has played in the recent and distant evolutionary history of life on earth.

Why now?

We are living in the golden age of data and in particular genomic data is being generated at a faster rate than most could have imagined a few years ago. In our research group we are using high performance computing, comparative genomics, phylogenetics, statistics, simulations and machine learning in order to turn data into knowledge.

What will we know in 10 years time?

The elements of life – protein domains, genes, gene clusters, genomes, communities, the global ecosystem – are inextricably linked in a complex, dynamic network. We will have uncovered some of that network. We will unearth the forces that influence its shape and structure. We will develop methods that predict what happens when it is perturbed (say, by Global Warming or the increased presence of antibiotics).

If you wish to join our group, please get in touch via the contact page

Our laboratory has four core values.

We expect the highest integrity and the strongest ethics from everybody in the research group and from everybody that we work with.
We are a diverse research group and we expect that everybody is treated with respect.
We expect work that is innovative and original.
We expect that the primary motivator is yourself and that you bring your drive with you every day.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Access (IDEA) declaration:

Science is a diverse pursuit and scientists are diverse. We do better science when we have more diversity – diversity in thought, diversity in skills, diversity in lived experience. Our lab welcomes and celebrates diversity. We believe in including everybody, and we strive to improve access to scientific research. We recruit students and post-doctoral researchers solely on the basis of their science, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, lifestyle, age, educational background, national origin, religion or physical ability. You will be welcome in our group and we will do our very best to help you to reach your full potential.

Occasionally we get out to see the world...

You can join the lab as a PhD student by one of two routes. Either self-funded, or as a member of the BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership program. Click either of the two links below for more information. If you wish to join us as a post-doctoral researcher, or if you wish to visit us for sabbatical or even for a short leave, then we would be interested in hearing from you.