Computational Biologist Research Scientist – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Berkeley, CA

Job ID: 3909
Job date: 2015-07-22
End Date:

Company : University of California 

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Role : Postdoc 


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Job Description:
Position Summary:

The DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) in Walnut Creek, CA (a division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab) has an exciting opportunity available for an experienced Computational Biologist Research Scientist. We are looking for a Research Scientist with a strong background in microbiology, bioinformatics and computational biology, with a particular emphasis on the analysis of genomes and metagenomics datasets to uncover and characterize novel phylogenetic lineages (New Lineages of Life project), explore taxonomic “blind spots” missed by environmental surveys and study microbial partnerships and interactions. The successful candidate will be expected to take a leadership role on the New Lineages of Life project and will also contribute to research as part of a large multi-disciplinary team. The candidate will also be expected to build a research program in collaboration with other scientists in the areas of environmental microbial systems biology and metagenome analysis.

Specific Responsibilities:
Responsible for designing and managing large-scale analysis of genomes and metagenomes to explore their taxonomic composition to identify novel lineages and potential microbial partnerships, as well as summarizing the results in publications

Utilize scripting language(s), high-performance computing experience and work with a team of computer scientists, software developers and postdoctoral researchers to develop new methods and tools for large-scale metagenome data analysis

Apply microbial metabolism and systems biology approaches to dissect key biochemical mechanisms of microbe-microbe interactions

Perform large-scale analysis of microbial genomes and metagenomes and contribute to research publications

Take a leadership role on the New Lineages of Life project and also contribute to research as part of a large multi-disciplinary team.

Additional desired responsibilities:
Develop an independent research program and to attract external funding

Required Qualifications:
Ph.D. in microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry or a related discipline plus a minimum of 3 years postdoctoral experience

Significant experience in methods and tools for next-generation sequencing, metagenome assembly and binning

Significant experience in large-scale analysis of microbial genomes and metagenomes is essential with a proven track record in this area reflected in recent or pending publications

Substantial knowledge and understanding of bioinformatics tools for sequence similarity search, multiple sequence alignment, profile search, clustering and phylogenetic analysis is required

Good knowledge of microbial metabolism is important as is a vision of how systems biology approaches can be combined to dissect key biochemical mechanisms of microbe-microbe interactions

Experience in the application of molecular biological techniques to the study of microorganisms and environmental microbial communities

Experience in a scripting language (Perl, Python) is a must, knowledge of Unix tools, relational databases and R is desirable

Excellent written and oral communications skills and a proven track record of publishing in high-impact journals are also required

Additional desired qualifications:
Good knowledge of microbial biochemistry

Experience in or familiarity with statistical analysis is desired

Familiarity with tools for microbial ecology studies

Notes: This is a 1 year, career-track term appointment that may be renewed to a maximum of five years and that may be converted to career based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds, and ongoing operational needs.

This position requires completion of a background check.

Berkeley Lab addresses the world’s most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab’s scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

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