Postdoctoral Fellow

AVAILABLE POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN HUMAN MICROBIOME GROUP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, INSTITUTE FOR GENOME SCIENCES

The human microbiome study group of Dr. Bing Ma, Assistant Professor, and Dr. Jacques Ravel, Professor at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS, http://www.igs.umaryland.edu ) seeks applicants for a postdoctoral scholar position. IGS at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine is an interdisciplinary, multi-departmental team of collaborative investigators with a broad research program related to the basic and translational sciences, genomics, epigenetics, and bioinformatics. The impact of the members of IGS on the genomics field has been substantial, with more than 2000 publications during the past 26 years, which have been cited more than 300,000 times, making IGS one of the most productive institution in the region.

Qualified candidates will be enthusiastic, highly motivated and interested in studying the role of the human microbiome in relation to human health. The research in this position will focus on 1) the role of early establishment of the microbiome influence infant development; 2) the role of microbiome in interacting with host immune responses; 3) pre-clinical study of live biotherapeutics in promoting human health. This interdisciplinary position offers opportunities to address important questions in human microbiome with first access to large novel data sets from various genomic platforms. We have a strong preference for computational biologists/statistician with a deep appreciation of biological phenomena or equally, microbiologists with a solid background in computational analysis of omics data. Projects will apply computational, statistical and bioinformatics approaches to integrate multi-omics’ datasets such as genome sequences, metabolomics, metagenomics, transcriptome, metatranscriptomics, bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell RNA-seq, to holistically understand the mechanistic role of human microbiome to facilitate clinical trials.

The position is largely computational and statistical and involves collaboration with wet-lab researchers providing data and is focused on fundamental biological mechanisms. The ideal applicant is expected to:
• possess a strong programming skill in at least one language in Python, R, or C/C++ and proficiency in use of Linux/Unix command-line system
• possess a demonstrable understanding of computational algorithms and statistical modeling and a working knowledge in molecular biology, microbiology, and microbial ecology
• possess a working knowledge on genomic sciences and sequencing biotechnologies
• lead or participate in projects, or participate in designs, develops, executes, and implements scientific experiments, adopt novel technologies to the sample analysis, produce and visualize data for presentation at scientific meetings and for publications.
• lead or participate in writing research and review papers, and to contribute the peer-review process and grant writing
• have strong and effective inter-personal and communication skills and ability to work effectively both as a part of the group and individually
• hold a doctoral degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Engineer, Genetics, Biology, Microbiology, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related field.
• PI highly values individuals with passion in taking on new challenges and strong will to learn. A fresh graduate is also encouraged to apply.

The successful candidate will benefit from a community of interactive research labs, bioinformatics experts and a variety of sequencing, and computational resources available in a world-class institute dedicated to genomic, basic, and translational research to improve human health in IGS at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine.

To apply, please send a CV, a statement of research interests (2 pages maximum), and contact information for three references to IGS-jobs.

Additional inquiries about the position can be sent to Drs. Bing Ma ( bma@som.umaryland.edu ) and Jacques Ravel ( jravel@som.umaryland.edu ).

Consideration of candidates will begin upon receipt of applications and will continue until the position is filled.

If accommodations are needed for a disability, please contact Staffing & Career Services at 410-706-2606, Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 4:30pm EST. Maryland Relay can be accessed by dialing 711 (in-state) or 1-800-735-2258.

UMB is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law or policy. For assistance related to employment, please contact the Staffing department at HRJobs@umaryland.edu.
If you anticipate needing a reasonable accommodation for a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), during any part of the employment process, please submit a UMB Job Applicant Accommodation Request. You may also contact HRDiversity@umaryland.edu. Please note that only inquiries concerning an ADA request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

Qualifications :

Ph.D.