Last Date: February 28, 2024.
Position Overview
The Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science invites applications for a Research Associate in Omics of Marine Microbiomes. This Full-time Fixed Term position is for approximately 12 months (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.
Reporting to the Principal Investigator of the Geomicrobiology Group, the Research Associate will be responsible for leading marine microbiome in research in the area of microbial ecology and ecophysiology of bacteria and archaea in the ocean using bioinformatics, genomics, metagenomics, biogeochemistry and microbiology. The successful candidate will have experience in field-work (including ROV-based offshore sampling), multi-omics tools for assessing microbial communities, long- and short-read sequence analysis and various other molecular microbiology tools and microbial bioinformatics.
This position will support active research projects in Canada’s Arctic and Atlantic Ocean regions aimed at delivering a better understanding of marine microbiology in relation to healthy ocean ecosystems and petroleum-associated microbiome responses. Environments of interest include both the water column and benthos where seabed sediments are a key focus. Marine sediments in the vicinity of hydrocarbon seeps or hydrothermal vents (i.e. where chemosynthesis takes place) will be compared with background sites that lack the same energy inputs, in order to understand marine microbial biogeography and ecophysiology.
The work will include computational biology with complementary wet lab work and fieldwork components. Activities will be undertaken in collaboration with other researchers at the University of Calgary as well as external collaborators across Canada and internationally. The role will include presenting results to diverse audiences (academia, end users, industry), publishing findings in highly respected peer-reviewed journals (e.g., past work from the group has appeared in Nature Communications and ISME Journal), and commercialization of outcomes if appropriate in collaboration with technology companies working in this space as well as the University’s technology transfer office.
Position Description
Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):
- Dry lab analysis of marine microbiome datasets including development of gene models for accurate annotation of different gene families and sub families.
- Metagenomic library preparation, troubleshooting, analysis, and interpretation.
- Amplicon library preparation, troubleshooting, analysis, and interpretation.
- Metatranscriptome library preparation, troubleshooting, analysis, and interpretation.
- Metaproteome library preparation, troubleshooting, analysis, and interpretation.
- Bioinformatics analysis of mixed community metagenomes including metagenome-assembled genomes.
- Nucleic acid extraction (DNA, RNA) from different kinds of samples (water, sediment) using multiple approaches.
- Primer and Probe design based on gene sequence alignments.
- Quantitative analysis of target gene types and sub-types using qPCR and/or digital PCR platforms or fluorescence in situ hybridization.
- Leading and/or supporting publication of results in peer-review journals.
- Maintain a clear and well-documented log of all data, data analyses, results, and lab work.
- Meet with supervisor(s) regularly to provide update on status of project results.
- Presentation of results to the MMG research group in weekly lab meetings and when applicable to project end users, sponsors or other researchers.
Qualifications / Requirements:
- PhD in area of molecular microbiology or bioinformatics or a similar topic is required.
- 5-7 years of related work experience required.
- First-author publication track record in leading journals (e.g., ISME Journal, Nature Communications).
- Familiarity with bioinformatics software applications and/or development, including those applied in but not limited to metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics.
- Experience in and knowledge of environmental microbiology and marine microbiology.
- Fieldwork in marine microbiology, including benthic sampling using remotely-operated vehicles.
- Proficiency with computational bioinformatics tools is required, including coding experience (e.g., Perl, Python, R)
- Experience with both long- and short-read sequencing (e.g., PacBio, Nanopore, Illumina).
- Evidence of effectiveness in mentoring and teaching students (e.g., in student research projects).
- Evidence of effectiveness in managing research projects (e.g., supervising student research).
- Experience writing or assisting with research grant proposals (e.g., ideation).
- Experience in analysing terabyte-scale sequencing data is an asset.
- Knowledge of WHMIS.
- Ability to multi-task and deal with some repetitive tasks is an asset.
- Must be comfortable working in a diverse research team and have good interpersonal skills.
Application Deadline: February 28, 2024
We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.
Additional Information
This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Technical Job Family, Phase 2 (Salary Range: $32.69-$47.33).
For a listing of all management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary, view our Management and Staff Careers website.
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