Postdoctoral Training Opportunity in Population Genomics at the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, and the University of California, Davis

Description:

The Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS) is a partnership between the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the India-based philanthropic Tata Trusts. TIGS is currently funded by a generous gift from the Tata Trusts, which are among India's oldest, non-sectarian philanthropic organizations that have established several of India’s leading institutions, such as the Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Tata Memorial Hospital and many other institutions of national and international importance. The overarching goal of TIGS is to advance global science and technology research in a socially conscious and ethical manner to ultimately find solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing issues, ranging from public health to agriculture.

TIGS-India, a new public charitable Trust, was launched in summer 2017, and operates as a Center within the Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine Institute (inStem) in Bangalore, Karnataka. TIGS-India will work collaboratively with its partner institute, TIGS-UC San Diego to train personnel, advance research, and facilitate the broad applications leveraging the latest genetics technologies for the improvement of human health and agriculture within India, and advancing knowledge in basic sciences.

A fully-funded postdoctoral training opportunity within the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society is immediately available for candidates to study urban and island populations of Anopheles mosquitoes in India. Candidates must have a PhD in the fields of Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Population Genomics or a related discipline (theoretical and/or applied). Successful candidates will work under the direction of Professor Gregory Lanzaro at the University of California, Davis, Vector Genetics Lab. Details are available by visiting: https://vectorgeneticslab.ucdavis.edu/

Ongoing research topics include:

• Interspecific hybridization and introgression as a mechanism for adaptation
• The evolution of populations on isolated islands
• Defining populations in urban centers as ecological islands
• Development of new wgs-based methods to estimate population size and dispersal
• Evaluating the behavior of gene drive systems via field trials

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will work on whole-genome sequencing data sets to decipher recent population history and evolution in mosquitoes that are vectors of human diseases. Further major responsibilities include extending and customizing state of the art methodologies in this field to implement bioinformatical pipelines tailored towards the specific needs of the various projects.

Required Qualifications:

• Strong background in statistics
• In-depth knowledge of population genetics theory
• Experience working in Linux environment
• Demonstrated record of research productivity and publications

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with coalescence/IBD methods
• Programming experience (e.g. C/C++, Python/Perl, R)
• Strong mathematical skills
• Experience with genomic data analysis

Funding: Available for a maximum duration of two years, subject to a clear definition of project aims, biannual project reports, formal annual presentations and an annual evaluation of significant progress both by the TIGS-affiliated faculty mentor and a TIGS-UC San Diego Advisory Group chaired by the Associate Director of the Institute. Each award covers the costs of the postdoctoral stipend, benefits, lab supplies, travel to UC Davis, and equipment.

The best candidates will have the possibility of exciting job opportunities and incentives for continuation of their work at TIGS-India in Bangalore.

Applications: Interested applicants should upload a Cover letter, CV, list of relevant publications, contact information for 3 referees, and a one-page statement of research interests and future goals by visiting: http://biology.ucsd.edu/publicinfo/tata

Applications are encouraged from diverse candidates, but preference will be given to those who are interested in continuing this work at TIGS-India upon completion of the post-doctoral training at UC Davis.