PhD / Postdoc in Computational Phylogenetics
With the advent of new generation sequencing (NGS) bioinformatic methods must keep pace to provide robust scalable solutions to analyse large sets of molecular sequences. The evolutionary history of molecules is described by a tree structure called phylogeny, which is inferred from genomic sequences. Phylogenies are used for testing biological hypotheses with applications ranging from medicine to ecology. Phylogeny inference usually relies on an inferred alignment of homologous sequences, which – in turn – relies on a guide-tree reflecting their ancestral relationships. The goal is to address this apparent circularity so to improve the reliability of phylogenetic analyses. Ideally alignment and tree should be inferred jointly.
For example, please see our recent article: Maiolo M, Zhang X, Gil M, Anisimova M. “Progressive multiple sequence alignment with indel evolution” BMC Bioinformatics. 2018 Sep 21;19(1):331. doi: 10.1186/s12859-018-2357-1. In the context of the project funded by Swiss National Science Foundation, we are looking for a suitable candidate for a PhD or a postdoc position, depending on previous background and qualifications. The successful candidate will work as part of Applied Computational Genomics team lead by Maria Anisimova at the Institute of Applied Simulations, Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW Wädenswil) and will have a second affiliation to the University of Zurich. Profile requirements Strong background in computational science, algorithms, statistics, stochastic modeling or similar; Working knowledge of C++ ; Some knowledge of phylogenetics and molecular evolution is a big advantage
To apply please send an email with the title JATI2 to maria.anisimova@zhaw.ch Your application should be in one pdf file including your CV and letter of motivation.
- Start date As soon as possible
- Job reference JATI2
- Workplace ZHAW Wädenswil, Switzerland
- Employer (SIB or university) ZHAW
- Employment fraction (Workload) full time
- Type of employment Temporary
- Position contact information:
- Name Maria Anisimova
- Email maria.anisimova@zhaw.ch