Skip to main content

Postdoctoral Researcher - Professor Arkin's Lab - QB3 Institute

We are no longer accepting applications for this recruitment. Browse open recruitments

Position description

This position will be part of the Integrative Genomic Institute
(https://innovativegenomics.org) project grant at the University of California, Berkeley, QB3 Institute, focusing on building tools and technologies for establishing the Phage Foundry. Under general supervision of the principal investigator, the candidate will work as part of a team to develop and apply experimental methods that integrate recent advances in gain-of- function and loss-of-function mutant library creation in diverse microbes; study host-phage interaction determinants; mine viral metagenomic datasets; and engineer phages with novel host determining factors. The successful candidate will help bridge the gap between genome sequencing and gene function determination by participating in a project centered on the systematic loss-of-function and overexpression of genes as a discovery platform, high- throughput culturing of bacteria, phage discovery, engineering and next-generation sequencing. Specifically, the Postdoc will culture diverse bacteria, discover phages from diverse environmental samples, and engineer strains and phages. Additionally, the Postdoc will generate Illumina sequencing libraries for de novo sequencing of microbial genomes, metagenomes, and plasmids.

This position is part of a multidisciplinary team of wet-lab scientists and computational researchers. As such, the successful candidate will collaborate on data generation and preliminary data analysis. The successful candidate will interact continuously with the computational team to share experimental data and implement suggestions made by the computational team; record and write protocols, store samples, and train students; and prepare research results for publication and for presentations at scientific and internal meetings. Success of this project will lay the foundation of a ‘Phage foundry’ which will provide knowledge and viral reagents to the broad research community and can be focused to support the agricultural, environmental and health strategies of IGI’s academic and industrial partners.

Minimum/Basic Qualifications required at the time of application:

Completion of all doctoral degree requirements except the dissertation in microbiology, molecular biology, virology, biochemical engineering, chemical engineering, systems biology, synthetic biology, or a related field.

Additional Qualifications required by start date:
• PhD or equivalent degree
• Experience in large-scale molecular biology, microbiology and genomic techniques
• Demonstrated experience in bioinformatics analysis of genomicdatasets
• Experience in phage discovery, phage biology, phageengineering tools and technologies
• Computer programming skills

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience in developing genetic tools for synthetic biology applications
• Knowledge of next generation sequencing technologies
• Experience in developing high throughput wetlab molecular genetic and genomics approaches
• Knowledge of microbial physiology (microbial community manipulation approaches), experience in bacterial culturing, engineering
• Working knowledge of Multiplex genome engineering approaches
• Capability to think out of the box to develop novels screens, product assay approaches
• Knowledge of recent advances in predictable gene expression approaches
• Demonstrated writing and oral presentation skills
• Independent but collaborative mindset with excitement about solving problems

Salary: This is a full-time position. Salary is commensurate with experience.

How to apply:

To apply, please go to the following link: http://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/apply/JPF01590 Applicants should submit the following materials:

  • A cover letter
  • A curriculum vitae
  • Statement of Research (One-page summary of research interests)
  • Contact information for 3 references Letters of reference are not required at this time. We will seek your permission before contacting your references. All letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality: http://apo.berkeley.edu/evalltr.html.

This position will be open until filled. The anticipated start date is 2/1/18. The appointment is for a duration of 2 years. Please address inquiries to Che Ly, chemingly@berkeley.edu.

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Cover Letter

  • Curriculum Vitae

  • Statement of Research - One-page summary of research interests

Reference requirements
  • 3 required (contact information only)

Job location

Berkeley, CA