The Vargo Lab in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University (http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/) is seeking highly qualified candidates for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in social insect molecular ecology and phylogenomics. We are searching for a motivated individual to perform independent and team-oriented studies on population genetic structure and ecological genomics of insect pests of the urban environment using microsatellite markers, SNPs and DNA sequence data. A major focus of this work will be termite and ant colony breeding structure and phylogenomics of invasive pest species, including the tawny crazy ant, Nylanderia fulva, the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosansus, and the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. In addition, there will be opportunities to develop independent research projects. The successful candidate should have experience in microsatellite and/or SNP genotyping for population genetic studies, including knowledge of population genetic analysis, especially Bayesian approaches to analyzing population genetic structure. Other desirable skills include knowledge of NextGen sequencing technologies, sequence assembly, data processing and analysis. Proficiency with R statistical software and experience writing Python scripts will be an advantage.
The full position description and instructions for application can be found at the Texas A&M jobs web site (https://greatjobs.tamu.edu/, search for NOV no. 09347). For further information, please contact Ed Vargo ([email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>).
