Employer
LCF, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Description
A 6-month postdoctoral position in Population Genomics is available at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
General information
Grant: Sapindales: phylogeny and diversification in the neotropical region (FAPESP: 14/18002-2)
Project sub-discipline: Population genomics
Principal investigators: José Rubens Pirani and Pedro Dias
Supervisor for this project: Pedro Dias
Institution/Department: University of São Paulo/ School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities
Fellowship: R$ 7.184,80 per month (about US$ 2,100.00 – there are no taxes on fellowships in Brazil)
Research contingency funds: intended for use in activities developed by the fellowship holder, strictly related to the fellowship research project, during the term of the fellowship. The additional funds are equivalent to 15 per cent of the annual value of the fellowship
Deadline for application: June 10, 2018
Published: April 11, 2018
Project description: “Population genomics of Pilocarpus spp. (Rutaceae)”
The genus Pilocarpus Vahl has 17 species and its distribution is restricted to the Neotropics. Economically, it is noteworthy by being the only natural source of the alkaloid pilocarpine, which is the key element commercialised by the pharmaceutical industry for glaucoma treatment. This project will focus on the four closely related, commercially exploited, and pilocarpine-producing species: P. alatus, P. jaborandi, P. microphyllus and P. trachylophus. This project will use Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies.
Tasks
The position is part of a research project, supported by FAPESP (2014/18002-2) at University of São Paulo, on the phylogeny and diversification of Sapindales in the Neotropical region. The work includes DNA labwork (including library preparation and optimization), use of standard software for quality control, pipelines and user-developed scripts (in both R and Perl), and population genomic analyses. The fellow will also help with lectures and supervision of student projects, article- and grant writing. The labwork will be conducted at São Paulo and Piracicaba campi of the University of São Paulo.
Candidate requirements
Qualifications
To be qualified for the postdoctoral position the applicant should have:
4.1. PhD degree in Genomics/Genetics/Bioiformatics/Phylogenetics/Evolutionary Biology or similar direction of studies. The PhD degree should have been received no more than two years before the deadline for applications.
4.2. Publication record in disciplines relevant to the thematic grant's objectives.
4.3. Strong experience with molecular biology techniques and DNA markers used in plant population genetics.
4.4. Fluent English and availability to spend sometime abroad (partner labs).
4.5. Experience with Oxford Nanopore library preparation; handling genomic data (previous training in genome assembly and annotation will be a plus) and software (e.g., CANU, FastQC, IGV, SPAdes, STACKS); using user-developed scripts (basic programing skills in, e.g., Perl, Python or R will be a plus), and basic shell commands (mandatory).
4.6. Experience with botanical fieldwork.
4.7. Availability to initiate working on the project as soon as FAPESP finishes documentation checking and approves the application.
* Retired candidates are not allowed.
About the employer
The São Paulo Research Foundation
FAPESP (www.fapesp.br/en) is a public foundation, funded by the taxpayer in the State of São Paulo, with the mission to support research projects in higher education and research institutions, in all fields of knowledge. São Paulo has a population of forty million and generates 35% of Brazil’s GNP. The constitution of the State establishes that 1% of all state taxes belong to the foundation and the government transfers these funds monthly. The stability of the funding and the autonomy of the foundation allow for an efficient management of the resources that has had a sizable impact: while São Paulo has 22% of the Brazilian population and 30% of the scientists with a doctorate in the country, the state responds for 52% of the country’s scientific articles published in international journals.
The Foundation works in close contact with the scientific community: all proposals are peer reviewed with the help of area panels composed of active researchers. Besides funding research in all fields, the foundation supports large research programs in Biodiversity, Bioenergy, Global Climate Change, and Neurosciences.
FAPESP’s expenditures in 2013 were R$ 1.085 billion (approximately US$ 500 million). 37% of the expenditures supported fundamental research; 10% supported research infrastructure; and 53% supported application oriented research, in many cases performed in Small Businesses or in joint research performed by academia and industry. The percentage invested in applied research has been growing in recent years, consistently with the foundation’s mandate to foster the scientific and technological development in the State of São Paulo.
FAPESP maintains cooperation agreements with national and international research funding agencies, higher educational and research institutions and business enterprises. The international cooperation covers a broad range of countries and agencies (www.fapesp.br/en/6812) including the UK Research Councils, the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR) in France, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in Germany, and NSF in the U.S.
FAPESP offers many programs to support foreign scientists willing to work in research institutions in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. These include: Post-doctoral Fellowships (www.fapesp.br/en/5427), Young Investigator Awards (www.fapesp.br/en/4479) and Visiting Researcher Grants (www.fapesp.br/en/6659).
Further details
Criteria for selection
Among qualified applicants, selection will be made according to scientific merits, quality of the PhD dissertation, personal skills, the applicant's documented knowledge in subjects of relevance for the research area, ability to master English language (both spoken and written), analytical ability, creativity, initiative, independence, teamwork, and will to collaborate. Previous knowledge of relevant theory and methods (next-generation sequencing, genome assembly, and phylo/biogeographic analyses) weigh heavily. Experience with botanical fieldwork and shell commands are considered mandatory.
Omissions in this announcement will be decided by the PIs of the FAPESP grant, safeguarding the rules established by FAPESP (http://www.fapesp.br/en/5427).
More information
Please contact Pedro Dias ([email protected]) or José R. Pirani ([email protected])
Possible start of employment: Sunday, 01 July 2018.
Contract: Full-time, Fixed-term
Salary: R$ 7.184,80 per month (about US$ 2,100.00)
Please mention Life Science Network when applying
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