Immediate opening, CLOSING DATE Nov 30, 2017

The UC San Diego campus has been fortunate to receive a path-breaking gift from the Tata Trust in India to create the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS).  TIGS will have operations on the UC San Diego (TIGS-UCSD) campus and at InStem on the campus of the National Center for Biological Sciences, in Bangalore, India (TIGS-India). Starting immediately, TIGS-India is recruiting for the position of Research Scientist, Grade 1, plant biology, for whom there will be fully-funded, postdoctoral (visiting scholar) training opportunities available in the field of Active Genetics as applied to plant biology. Ph. D. or equivalent candidates (< 3 years from degree) are desired for the position. At the end of training, possibility of exciting job opportunities and incentives for continuation of their work at TIGS-India exists.

Funding: will be available for a period of up to 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 mentor and a UC San Diego Advisory Group chaired by the Director of the Institute. Each award covers the costs of the visiting scholar stipend, benefits and travel. Applicants will be appointed as employees of TIGS-India and sent for training to UC San Diego for a period of up to 2 years, pending satisfactory annual appraisals. Upon completion of training at UC San Diego, these scholars will be expected to return to work in India in the field of Active Genetics for at least 1 year either at TIGS-India or in other Government labs.

A position is available immediately to explore the application of gene-drive systems to plants as part of a collaborative effort with the labs of Profs. Martin Yanofsky, Mark Estelle and Ethan Bier at UC San Diego. Studies will employ state-of-the-art “Active Genetic” tools based on CRISPR gene-drive systems that the Bier lab has developed (The Dawn of Active Genetics. 2016. Gantz VM, Bier E. Bioessays, 38:50-63) with the goal of generalizing these technologies to plants. Familiarity with CRISPR technology and Arabidopsis thaliana genetics is advantageous but not essential. Candidates must have completed all requirements for a Ph.D. degree, including a certificate of completion and/or the actual degree. Applicants should upload their CVs, names of three references and other required materials to http://biology.ucsd.edu/publicinfo/tata. Please refer to this as the Plant Biology position #1 in the Cover letter.