We seek to fill two post-doctoral positions for an interdisciplinary
NIH-funded project on the characterization and genetics of aging in
Daphnia. As a whole, the project involves the integration of
demographic, physiological, genomic, and functional genetic information
to understand naturally evolved variation of aging and its response to
resource heterogeneity. The project exploits naturally occurring
variation among Daphnia ecotypes with different selection pressures on
aging and different levels of resource variation. This is a
collaborative effort among the labs of PI Dr. Jeff Dudycha (evolutionary
ecology and genetics of life history), Dr. Rekha Patel (molecular
genetics of stress responses), and Dr. Sean Place (ecophysiological
genomics).
Post-Doc #1: Functional genetics (jointly advised by Patel & Dudycha).
This position will focus on developing functional genetics techniques
in Daphnia, and apply them to genes likely to be involved in aging. We
anticipate that this individual will use a variety of techniques, such
as yeast two-hybrid assays, cell culture, transgenics and gene
knockdown, and epigenetic profiling. Start date for this position is as
soon as possible.
Post-Doc #2: Ecological genomics and physiology (jointly advised by
Dudycha & Place). This position will focus on A) characterizing gene
expression profiles in Daphnia of different ages exposed to different
resource levels and B) quantifying age-dependent physiological changes
in response to resource variation. We anticipate that this individual
will use a combination of life tables, gene expression profiling, and
phenotypic measures to characterize traits associated with aging.
Qualifications: Candidates for both positions must have a Ph.D. in
biology or related field at the start of the appointment. In addition,
candidates should be comfortable working in a diverse collaborative
environment, should have excellent written and verbal communication
skills and strong quantitative skills, and should have an intellectual
interest in the project. Candidates for PD#1 should have a strong
background in molecular genetics. The ideal candidate will have
experience in a range of molecular genetic techniques (e.g., yeast
two-hybrids, epigenetics, cell culture, antibody staining), and an
interest in advancing functional genetics in a novel model system.
Experience with Daphnia or other crustaceans, as well as transgenic
construction or gene knockdowns in invertebrates are assets, but not
expected. Candidates for PD#2 should have a strong background in
evolutionary biology, and ideally will have experience with
bioinformatics, Daphnia, and/or life history evolution. In addition,
preference will be given to candidates with experience in gene
expression analysis, invertebrate physiology, and statistical software
(R or SAS).
Both positions offer competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with
experience, as well as a range of mentoring and professional development
opportunities. Review of materials for PD#1 will begin immediately, to
start as soon as practical. Review of materials for PD#2 will begin
November 1. A start date of May 16, 2011 is preferred for Position 2,
but is flexible. Positions will be offered for an initial period of 1
year, and can be renewed for 2 years upon satisfactory performance. To
be considered, submit the following materials as a single .pdf file: 1)
a cover letter that describes your qualifications for the position, 2) A
current CV, 3) Names and contact information for three referees willing
to provide a letter of recommendation, 4) a brief statement of your
research interests and how they dovetail with our research project.
Submit all materials to Dr. Jeff Dudycha via email to dudycha [at] biol
[dot] sc [dot] edu. Informal inquiries are welcome.
Additional information about our research programs can be found on our
websites: http://www.biol.sc.edu/~dudycha/
http://www.biol.sc.edu/faculty/patel-r.html
http://www.biol.sc.edu/faculty/place.html
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Jeffry L. Dudycha
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Biological Sciences
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
dudycha [at] biol.sc.edu
http://www.biol.sc.edu/~dudycha
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