Eurizon.eu

Organization: Ribocon GmbH

Location: Bremen, Germany

Field: Biodiversity

Requirements:

The candidate should have a strong background in rRNA gene sequence analysis for microbial community analysis, including phylogenetic reconstruction and microbial taxonomy.
Experiences with the software package ARB are desirable.
Moreover, the candidate should be open for computer-based work, including basic programming and use of relational database systems.

The Experienced Researcher must have a PhD or at least 4 years of research experience but the total research experience must be below 6 years.
The Experienced Researcher must not have resided or carried out its main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host (Germany) for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the recruitment.
Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Abstract:

We are searching for an Experienced Researcher still in its early career to fill a 24 month Postdoc position at the Bioinformatics company Ribocon within Marie Curie Initial Training Network “Symbiomics – Molecular Ecology and Evolution of Bacterial Symbionts".

Description:

The Research:
The investigation of symbiont biodiversity and biogeography using molecular marker genes is essential for the analysis of their structure, composition and host interactions. The availability of classical clone based sequence analysis as well as high throughput tag sequencing provides easy access to hundreds or thousands of tags for marker genes such as the small- and large subunit ribosomal RNA. The bottleneck is the bioinformatic analysis of the flood of data in terms of data processing, quality assessment and phylogenetic classification. Specialized knowledge databases for rRNAs such as the RDP II or SILVA project exist to support a general (higher level) classification of rRNA sequences. However, these general purpose databases lack highly resolved classifications of sequences from pro- and eukaryotic symbiotic communities which often appear as clusters in phylogenetic trees.
This research task will focus on the adaptation, optimization and extension of the SILVA rRNA databases to investigate the phylogenetic position of rRNA sequences from symbiotic communities. It will provide a standardized, integrated and curated dataset both for the Symbiomics network and the research community for investigating the biogeography and co-evolution of symbiotic organisms and their hosts, including manually-curated alignments and trees for detailed phylogenetic analyses of symbiotic communities. Besides the primary sequence information, special emphasis will be put on the availability and correctness of contextual (meta)data provided for each sequence in the public domain, as well as by the project partners. The contextual data will be evaluated with respect to the emerging ‘minimum information standards’ of the Genomic Standards Consortium.
By gaining insights into Europe’s largest database for ribosomal RNA, the researcher can extend its expertise on data processing, integration, standardization and exploitation as well as learn new computational techniques. Furthermore, by working in a SME, the researcher will gain the expertise and soft skills needed for entrepreneurship and market-focused project management.

The Training:
Symbiomics includes 14 leading research groups as well as 4 top-tier participants from the private sector to provide an interdisciplinary and synergistic training. Cutting edge methods in molecular biology and image analysis will be used to analyze a broad range of hosts from protozoan and invertebrate animal groups. Symbiomics will provide training through a combination of local and network-wide activities that will include research, secondments, workshops and courses, soft skills training, network and project meetings, and mentoring. At the end of their training, the researches will have the skills they need for successful careers in academia and industry in a broad range of disciplines in the fields of environmental, applied, and medical microbiology.
 
The contract duration will be 24 months. The salary will be in accordance with the EU FP7 Marie Curie ITN regulations and will consist of salary, mobility allowance, travel allowance, a career exploratory allowance and contribution to participation expenses.

Deadline: 30-04-2011

Contacts:

Link: http://www.ribocon.com

Email: jpeplies@ribocon.com

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