We are seeking a computational biology postdoc to work on the genomics of flightlessness in birds. As well as shedding light on bird wing development, the project will have wider implications and provide a deeper understanding of the origins of limb development in vertebrates. The 2-year position will involve phylogenetic, comparative genomics and sequencing expression analysis of multiple bird genomes. This exciting project uses cutting edge sequencing technology and algorithms to understand one of the corzae questions in biology - how do organisms read the genome to develop diversity in form and function?
The successful candidate will be expected to design and analyze sequencing experiments for multiple genomes of paleognathous birds. Using this data they will assemble each genome and run comparative genome analysis for these and all suitable publicly available genomes. They will then use the subsequent genome alignment and morphological data to reconstruct the evolution of flightlessness in unprecedented detail.
The position will be embedded in the core informatics group at Harvard, headed by Michele Clamp, Director of Informatics and Scientific Applications, but will have extensive interactions with the lab group of project leader Scott Edwards (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology) at Harvard and other groups involved in the grant.
Basic Qualifications
A PhD in biology or other science with experience of bioinformatics tool use or development. Good communication skills and an ability to collaborate with others.
Additional Qualifications
The successful candidate will ideally have experience in phylogeny, whole genome analysis, comparative genomics and expression analysis of next-generation sequencing data. Experience of command line bioinformatics tools and a basic understanding of algorithms underlying common analysis techniques (e.g. sequence alignment, RNA-Seq statistics and comparative genomics models). Basic understanding of animal diversity or developmental biology a plus.
Please send CVs to [email protected]
The successful candidate will be expected to design and analyze sequencing experiments for multiple genomes of paleognathous birds. Using this data they will assemble each genome and run comparative genome analysis for these and all suitable publicly available genomes. They will then use the subsequent genome alignment and morphological data to reconstruct the evolution of flightlessness in unprecedented detail.
The position will be embedded in the core informatics group at Harvard, headed by Michele Clamp, Director of Informatics and Scientific Applications, but will have extensive interactions with the lab group of project leader Scott Edwards (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology) at Harvard and other groups involved in the grant.
Basic Qualifications
A PhD in biology or other science with experience of bioinformatics tool use or development. Good communication skills and an ability to collaborate with others.
Additional Qualifications
The successful candidate will ideally have experience in phylogeny, whole genome analysis, comparative genomics and expression analysis of next-generation sequencing data. Experience of command line bioinformatics tools and a basic understanding of algorithms underlying common analysis techniques (e.g. sequence alignment, RNA-Seq statistics and comparative genomics models). Basic understanding of animal diversity or developmental biology a plus.
Please send CVs to [email protected]