Two postdoc positions in comparative evolutionary genomics
- Expected start date: as soon as possible
- Contract length: 1 year, renewable once for 2 years
- Activity rate: 100%
- Workplace: University of Lausanne, Génopode, 1015 Lausanne
The groups of Profs Christophe Dessimoz and Robert Waterhouse are seeking candidates for two Postdoctoral positions at the Departments of Computational Biology and Ecology & Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Working at the interface between biology and computer science, the Dessimoz Lab (https://lab.dessimoz.org) seeks to better understand evolutionary and functional relationships between genes, genomes, and species. The Waterhouse Group (https://rmwaterhouse.org/lab) is focused on elucidating interactions between gene evolution and gene function through computational interrogation of arthropod genomics data. Both Groups are members of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.
The two Postdocs will lead the evolutionary genomics contributions to a groundbreaking interdisciplinary project in collaboration with the Group of Prof. Bruno Lemaitre (https://lemaitrelab.epfl.ch/) at the neighbouring École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
The overall project aims to develop the computational tools required to fully exploit new genomics data in a framework that also takes advantage of the latest molecular biology tools to achieve combined evolutionary and functional characterisation of the Drosophila immune secretome. The two Postdocs will work closely together on the project developing and applying comparative genomics and evolutionary modelling approaches to fully exploit new genomics data, with a biological focus on the insect innate immune system. The evolutionary genomics part of the project will focus on (1) extending our current knowledge of immune effectors beyond the canonical repertoires of genes encoding for known antimicrobial peptides, and (2) exploiting the rich genomics datasets across Drosophila species to trace the evolutionary histories of immune genes.
Profile Sought
We seek candidates with demonstrated programming skills in the areas of bioinformatics, computational biology, and comparative genomics. Further desirable attributes include knowledge of and interest in orthology delineation, gene family evolution, phylogenetics, gene birth/death, genome-wide synteny, selection and constraint, gene prediction, genome annotation, immunity, infection, and insects.
Furthermore, a requirement from the funder (Swiss National Science Foundation) is that postdocs can only be employed up to 5 years after obtaining their PhD (6 in case of maternity leave). Please also note that the laboratory is committed to promoting gender equality and strongly encourages applications from female candidates.
How to apply
The application should fill in the form linked below and provide the following elements:
- Cover letter detailing your research interests, experience and motivation for applying
- Curriculum vitae including list of publications
- Reference to best paper accompanied by a brief supporting statement (approx. 200 words)
- The names and contact details of 2-3 references
- Copy of official PhD certificate (or, if you will be graduating shortly, the expected graduation date)
Applications should be submitted via the UNIL HR system using the following link: http://bit.ly/swisspostdoc3
Committed to promoting equal employment opportunities among its staff members, the University of Lausanne particularly encourages applications by women.
To ensure full consideration, applications should be received by 30 June 2019.
