Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Microbial Genomics

The Ecosystems and Global Change Group (www.ecosystemchange.com) at Trent University jointly led by Prof Andrew Tanentzap (Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Northern Ecosystems) and Dr Erik Emilson (Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service sector of Natural Resources Canada, https://glfc-wet.github.io) is recruiting a Postdoctoral Fellow to start immediately.  The initial appointment will last for two years with a possibility for renewal.

The project:  Permafrost thaw risks releasing microbes into the natural environment that have been isolated from modern ecosystems for millennia with unknown consequences for people and wildlife.  We are searching for an experienced researcher to characterise microbial community composition and functioning in thawing North American permafrost, with a particular focus on environmental pathogens and the application of single-cell sequencing approaches.  Our research group also holds large sequencing datasets from freshwaters and soils that are often coupled with untargeted metabolomics data, offering substantial opportunities for focused data mining.

• Design and interpretation of field and experimental studies
• DNA extraction, library preparation, and sequencing of permafrost soil with suitable contamination controls
• Bioinformatic and statistical analysis of sequencing data with programming tools such as R or Python
• Development of protocols for single-cell sequencing
• Preparation and submission of scientific publications
• Supervision of undergraduate and Master thesis students

The appointed candidate will have completed the requirements for a PhD by their start date and have evidence of an emerging publication record using state-of-the-art bioinformatics tools to analyse metagenomics sequencing data.  The ideal candidate will have some knowledge relevant to long-read sequencing, single-cell microbial genomics, and whole genome assembly.  The candidate will be expected to mentor junior team members, so leadership experience will be advantageous.