University of Maryland, School of Medicine
INSTITUTE FOR GENOME SCIENCES
The newly created Institute for Genomes Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland,
School of Medicine is in a period of rapid expansion with many new appointments
anticipated in the next five years.
The Institute is led by Claire M. Fraser-Liggett, Ph.D., one of the world’s preeminent
genome scientists and previous Director and President of the Institute for Genomic
Research (TIGR). The Institute for Genome Sciences houses an inter-disciplinary, multidepartmental team of collaborative investigators with a broad spectrum research
program related to the genomics of infectious disease agents, human microbial
metagenomics, functional genomics, and bioinformatics. The impact of the IGS team on
the field of genomics has been substantial, with more than 500 publications during the
past 15 years that have been cited more than 30,000 times.
A POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW position is open in Joana Silva’s group at the IGS. Candidate
must be an enthusiastic, highly motivated individual interested in studying eukaryotic
genome evolution. Potential projects include the evolution of nucleotide composition of
genomes, the genomic distribution of substitution rates and the impact of genomic
location on nucleotide composition and evolutionary rate. Projects will be mostly
computational and are based on the sequenced genomes of over a dozen
apicomplexans, including eight Plasmodium, three Theileria and three Cryptosporidium
species, the causative agents of malaria, cryptosporidiosis, and theileriosis, and East
Coast fever, respectively (http://www.igs.umaryland.edu/~jcsilva).
The ideal candidate will have a doctoral degree in Genetics, Evolution, Computational
Biology, or a related field; will be thoroughly familiar with the fields of population
genetics, molecular evolution, and bioinformatics; and must have documented
experience with molecular evolution and phylogeny estimation software (e.g., Paml,
HyPhy, DnaSP, Paup, MrBayes, Beast). Programming skills in languages such as C/C++
and Perl, even though not essential, are a plus. A publication record in evolutionary
biology is a must. The initial appointment is for one year starting in the Fall 2008 (start
date flexible), with possible extension to a second year dependent on performance.
The successful candidate will benefit from a community of very interactive research
labs, a large group of bioinformatics programmers and a variety of laboratory,
sequencing and computational resources available in a world class genomics institute to
support basic, genomic and translational research.
To apply, please send a CV, a statement of research interests (include reason for
applying to this position; 2 pages maximum), and contact information for three
references to IGS-jobs@som.umaryland.edu
Additional inquiries about the position can be sent to Joana Silva:
jcsilva@som.umaryland.edu.
Consideration of candidates will begin upon receipt of applications and will continue
until the position is filled.
AA/EOE/ADA