Job descriptions

Owned by tjv
Last updated: Nov 04, 2009 by ane (Unlicensed)Version comment

Computational Biologist: Gene Tree Reconciliation

A computational biologist is sought to work on accurate, scalable implementations of gene tree reconciliation in the context of the iPlant Tree of Life project.

Background:

Gene tree reconciliation seeks to map events such as gene duplication, gene loss, lineage sorting and lateral transfer, onto gene phylogenies by comparing the phylogeny of the genes with that of the species from which they are sampled.  Such a mapping allows one to explore the functional evolution of genes in a rich comparative context.

The Gene Tree Reconciliation working group of the iPlant Tree of Life project aims to address the challenge of scaling gene tree reconciliation algorithms for many thousands of gene trees and taxa, and to empower plant scientists to study functional evolution in gene trees by providing integrated data, analysis and visualization tools.  iPlant provides extensive software development and high performance computing capabilities to realize this goal. The working group will apply the tools that are being developed to the 1K Plant Transcriptome pilot data set, which has deep gene-space and taxonomic coverage, including many deeply diverging green plant lineages.

Responsibilities:

Benchmark the performance of alternative reconciliation algorithms and statistics. Explore new approaches for quantifying and reporting uncertainty  in the results of reconciliation analyses. Serve as a domain expert and consultant for the iPlant software development team.  Apply reconciliation analyses to the interpretation of gene and genome evolution in land plants. Publish and present your own research and the synthetic results of the working group.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelors degree in biology, computer science, statistics or related field. Two or more years post-undergraduate research with experience research in molecular evolution, and at least one peer-reviewed publication in the field.  Programming experience at least at the level of a scripting language such as PERL. Strong communication skills.  Availability for frequent travel.

Preferred Qualifications:

MS or PhD degree. Specific experience in genome evolution, gene tree reconciliation and large-scale biological data analysis. Demonstrated ability to interact and collaborate with a geographically dispersed, multidisciplinary team.

How to Apply:

Inquiries and applications may be addressed to Todd Vision at tjv@bio.unc.edu.  Applications should consist of a 1-2 page cover letter/statement of interest, a CV, and contact information for at least two references.

More information:

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