Postdoctoral position in Marine Genomics available at the Marine Climate Change Unit
Anthropogenic activities are leading to global Climate Change at an unprecedented rate. Understanding the mechanisms of how coral reef fish cope with environmental shifts is imperative to understand their fate in a changing planet. Little is known about the genomics mechanisms of rapid evolution/phenotypic plasticity to the adaptive response of coral reef fish to changing ocean conditions.
We seek for a highly motivated postdoctoral fellow in Molecular Ecology, Genomics or Computational Biology/Bioinformatics to join the Marine Climate Change Unit/Ravasi’s Unit at OIST (https://groups.oist.jp/macc) to work on a long-term project that aims to understand the effects of climate stressors (i.e. ocean acidification and warming) on coral reef fishes. Our main goal is to understand fish acclimation/adaptation to climate change at the genomic level. By using a set of unique multi-generational experiments combined with Next-Generation Sequencing approaches such as genome, epigenome and transcriptome sequencing we are trying to unveil the genetics and epigenetics mechanisms underline fish responses to climate change. The successful candidate will be able to look at a variety of data including physiological responses, but will mainly be working on the computational analysis, integration and visualization of genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics datasets. A considerable amount of new and unpublished sequencing datasets has been already generated and immediately available for this project.
The Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University was established in 2011 to contribute to the development of science and technology worldwide and to serve as a hub of innovation in Okinawa. OIST is a dynamic new graduate university of science and technology in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan which offers a 5-year PhD program and brings together outstanding researchers from across the country and across disciplines to conduct cutting-edge scientific research.
The university is located on 85 hectares of protected forestland overlooking a beautiful shoreline and coral reefs. The campus is striking architecturally, and the facilities are outstanding. To facilitate multidisciplinary research, there are no academic departments. Outstanding resources and equipment are provided and managed to encourage easy access and collaboration.
English is the official language of the University, and the university research community is fully international, with more than 50 countries represented. OIST is rapidly gaining recognition in the worldwide academic community as a model for excellence in education and research, and our unwavering commitment to scientific and technological innovation is dedicated to generating progress that will fuel Okinawa's economic growth.
- The successful candidate will take the lead role in the project.
- To contribute to the overall activities of the research unit, acting as an effective collaborator and team member.
- To supervise the day-to-day work of junior staff, students and interns.
- To carry our routine administrative tasks associated with the research project to ensure it is completed on time and within budget as needed.
- To plan own day-to-day activity within framework of the agreed research programme to allow timely submission and acceptance of manuscripts for peer-review publication.
- To liaise with colleagues and students to build contacts, exchange information and form relationships for future collaboration.
- Disseminating the research at national and international conferences.
- Maintaining and updating the Unit’s freely available genomics resources website, http://nemogenome.org.
<Required>
- Ph.D. in Molecular Ecology, Genomics, Computational Biology/Bioinformatics (or related topics).
- Experience with Next-Generation Sequencing datasets and experience assembling de novo transcriptomes and genomes.
- Computing experience, fluency in Linux/Unix, excellent knowledge in a programming language (Python, R, C/C++ etc).
<Preferred>
- Knowledge in marine ecology, fish biology/physiology and experience in managing collaborative projects.
In accordance with the OIST Employee Compensation Regulations
Benefits:
- Relocation, housing and commuting allowances
- Annual paid leave and summer holidays
- Health insurance (Private School Mutual Aid)
- Welfare pension insurance (kousei-nenkin)
- Worker's accident compensation insurance (roudousha-saigai-hoshou-hoken)
- Cover letter summarizing research interests, professional experience and career goals
- Curriculum vitae
- Names and contact information of 3-5 referees, one of which should be a previous employer
How To Apply:
Apply by emailing your Submission Documents to:
timothy.ravasi@oist.jp
- OIST Graduate University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its faculty, students and staff. The University strongly encourages applications from underrepresented groups.
- Information provided by applicants or references will be kept confidential, documents will not be returned. All applicants will be notified regarding the status of their applications.
- Please view OIST policy for rules on external professional activities
- Further details about the University can be viewed on the OIST website www.oist.jp.
Term: Full-time, fixed term appointment for 2 years. This contract may be renewed up to total of 3 years
Working hours: 9:00-17:30 (Discretionary)