Jobs

RNA therapeutics are reshaping modern medicine—from mRNA vaccines to precision gene modulation. At the COBRA Lab, we advance computational methods that connect RNA structure to function and translate those insights into tangible health benefits. Joining our team means collaborating with researchers across disciplines, seeing your algorithms inform real-world therapies, and contributing to an inclusive scientific community committed to open, rigorous inquiry.

Appointment

• Term: One year with possibility of renewal
• Salary: CAD $70,000 per year, plus full University of Alberta benefits
• Start date: Flexible (applications reviewed on a rolling basis)
• Work mode: On site in Edmonton

Research Focus

You will collaborate on projects that:

• Characterise RNA structure–function relationships
• Improve RNA efficiency through informed RNA design
• Predict the effects of genetic mutations on RNA behaviour

All projects share the goal of accelerating RNA-based therapeutic development.

Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) – Muskox and Bison Conservation Genomics

Background: The Kyle laboratory, in close collaboration with partner institutions and agencies (e.g., Parks Canada) is working to understand the adaptive resiliency of large northern ungulates in context of rapid environmental change and acute selective pressures from disease.  Current study systems include muskox and American bison, of immense cultural significance and conservation concern. Archived and ongoing collections of specimens will be examined, comparing host genomic variation (specifically, the immunome) and microbiome variation relative to disease status, stress indicators and other phenotypic data (e.g., body condition metrics). We are recruiting several PDFs and graduate students to assist with this research. There will be some flexibility to adapt projects to candidate interests with opportunities for field and lab work, where candidates will be expected to work/liaise/consult with Indigenous rightsholders as well.

Location: Successful candidates will join the Kyle lab group at Trent University in Peterborough, ON, and will have access to networking and training opportunities with collaborators at U. Montreal, U. Calgary, Parks Canada, among other partners and stakeholders.

Compensation:

No less than 60K CAD/year (negotiable based on experience). One year of funding is guaranteed with contract extensions based upon satisfactory progress.

To Apply or Request more Information: Please send an email to Christopherkyle@trentu.ca) including: a brief statement outlining research interests, previous experience and training relating to this project, C.V., and contact information for two references.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received.

Start Date: Summer / Fall 2025, negotiable

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.

The Cumming School of Medicine and Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary are accepting applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar in Bioinformatics and its application to Wastewater-Based Surveillance (WBS) of antimicrobial resistance and emerging pathogens.

The postdoc will be part of an interdisciplinary research team that uses wastewater to track the dynamics of infectious agents. We have developed an integrated surveillance network monitoring 43 municipalities, as well as several sentinel surveillance hubs including a large number of tertiary care hospitals and populations of special interest from which we collect samples 1-3x per week.  Wastewater data can be compared with population-level data and hospital-specific data drawing from a single provincial health provider – and the potential of this unique network is exceptional. To date we have amassed >2000 samples that have been processed as raw wastewater and culture enriched raw wastewater (for specific pathogens).  A parallel agriculture and agri-food network is being developed which will be further leveraged.  The postdoc will work directly with a transdisciplinary team of clinicians and researchers at the University of Calgary (Cumming School of Medicine and Faculties of Science, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine, and Advancing Canadian Water Assets (ACWA)) and their collaborators including those at the Universities of Alberta, Athabasca and Lethbridge. The Postdoc will also have the opportunity to collaborate with public health, pharmacy, infection control, and antimicrobial stewardship experts at Alberta Health Services.

The successful applicant will join a productive transdisciplinary team with supporting research funding from NSERC, CIHR, Genome Alberta, and Alberta Health. Working with the Primary Investigators Michael Parkins and John Conly (Cumming School of Medicine, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases) and Casey Hubert (UCalgary Research Chair, Faculty of Science). The Postdoc will work as part of a large team that includes several HQP staff and trainees including those in graduate, undergraduate and post graduate training programs.  There will be abundant opportunities for collaboration with others interested in bioinformatics and mentorship of junior trainees.

Subject area description

Miscarriage is the most common pregnancy complication, with over 23 million pregnancies ending in miscarriage every year.  This project aims to identify fetal genetic factors (SNP and de novo copy number variants) behind miscarriage, particularly among fetuses with normal chromosome counts. The postdoc fellow will lead a project using large-scale genotyping array data from miscarried fetuses and their mothers (including calling of aneuploidies and copy number variants) and contribute to ongoing efforts in this field (GWAS, meta-analyses, etc).