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We are seeking a computational biology postdoc to work on the genomic origins of beak shape in Darwin’s finches. As well as shedding light on beak development this will have wider implications and a provide a deeper understanding of vertebrate morphological development. The 2 year position will involve phylogenetic and sequencing expression analysis of multiple bird genomes. This is an exciting project which uses cutting edge sequencing technology and algorithms and seeks to understand one of the core questions in biology - how do organisms become the shape they are?
The successful candidate will be expected to design and analyze sequencing experiments for multiple finch genomes. Using this data they will assemble each genome and run comparative and differential expression analysis for these and all suitable publically available genomes. This will enable us to identify candidate genes involved in determining beak shape.
The position will provide an excellent opportunity to work in a world-class institution with ample scope to develop their computational and/or experimental knowledge and to develop their own related research interests.
The position will be embedded in the core informatics group headed by the Director of Informatics and Scientific Applications but will have extensive interactions with the members of the Abzhanov group and members of the Bioinformatics Core Facility.
Basic Qualifications
A PhD in biology/bioinformatics with a significant portion based in bioinformatics tool use or development. Good communication skills and an ability to get on 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 phylogenetic models). Experience in a programming language such as python or perl is highly desired.
The successful candidate will be expected to design and analyze sequencing experiments for multiple finch genomes. Using this data they will assemble each genome and run comparative and differential expression analysis for these and all suitable publically available genomes. This will enable us to identify candidate genes involved in determining beak shape.
The position will provide an excellent opportunity to work in a world-class institution with ample scope to develop their computational and/or experimental knowledge and to develop their own related research interests.
The position will be embedded in the core informatics group headed by the Director of Informatics and Scientific Applications but will have extensive interactions with the members of the Abzhanov group and members of the Bioinformatics Core Facility.
Basic Qualifications
A PhD in biology/bioinformatics with a significant portion based in bioinformatics tool use or development. Good communication skills and an ability to get on 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 phylogenetic models). Experience in a programming language such as python or perl is highly desired.