[SocBiN] Postdoc in Stockholm: worm genomics

[Ulf Jondelius]

Dear All,

Please forward to all suitable candidates.

/Ulf


Post-doctoral researcher 

A postdoc position is available in the research group of Ulf Jondelius at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoc with interest in animal evolution for a project using data from genome sequencing of microscopic marine worms (Acoelomorpha). Acoelomorpha are simple animals lacking many features present in other Bilateria (e.g. circulatory system, body cavity, excretory organs). Their phylogenetic position is highly contested: they have been proposed to be either the earliest extant bilaterians, part of the flatworms, or deuterostomes closely related to echinoderms and hemichordates. The conflicting hypotheses imply widely disparate interpretations of their morphological evolution as either primitively simple or secondarily reduced in complexity. We will sample genomic data to cover acoelomorph diversity aiming to reconstruct their phylogenetic position within the Metazoa and study the structure of the genomes expecting to find either a simple basal metazoan genome or higher bilaterian and deuterostome signatures. The succesful candidate will work on assembly and analysis of genomes from several acoelomorph species together with the PI, collaborators, students, and technicians and will be responsible for analyzing results, writing manuscripts, and contributing to the development of the project.

The project is a collaboration with SciLife lab in Stockholm and Uppsala and colleagues at the Sars Centre in Bergen, Norway.
  
Qualifications 
The ideal candidate has a recent PhD in Bioinformatics, Genomics, Molecular or Evolutionary biology or related fields, experience in analyzing next-generation DNA sequence data, and a record of publishing in scientific journals.  Programming experience in a scripting language (such as Python or Perl) is desirable. 

Starting date is September 1, 2013. The appointment is for two years.

Informal enquiries should be directed to professor Ulf Jondelius (ulf.jondelius at nrm.se). Union representatives are Bodil Kajrup, SACO-S and Yvonne Arremo, ST. All can be reached at telephone number + 46 8 519 540 00.

How to apply:  Applicants should submit (1) a cover letter describing your
research interests and background, (2) a detailed CV (including
publications), and (3) the contact details of three references as a single pdf document to rekrytering at nrm.se or to Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden, no later than May 10, 2013. Mark your application with dnr 2.3.1-144-2013