[ECOLOG-L] Postdoctoral position in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial Interactions

2018-12-19 Thread Michelle Afkhami
Postdoctoral position in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial Interactions
Department of Biology, University of Miami, Miami, FL

Drs. Michelle Afkhami and Christopher Searcy are interested in hiring a 
co-advised postdoctoral scholar in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial 
Interactions in the Department of Biology at University of Miami (Miami, FL).

The postdoctoral scholar will conduct research to investigate the role of 
plant-microbial interactions in the landscape ecology and conservation of plant 
species in the imperiled Florida Scrub ecosystem. In particular, projects 
during the first year will focus on: 1) metatranscriptomics of soil microbes 
and how they relate to selection imposed by fire, and 2) the impact of the soil 
microbial community on plant distributions. During this time, the postdoctoral 
scholar can become familiar with the system and develop additional projects 
related to landscape-scale species distributions, plant demography, or other 
aspects of plant-microbial interactions. We are looking for a postdoctoral 
scholar who can bring his or her perspective to the system and develop new 
ideas to pursue. The postdoc will have the opportunity to collect, analyze, and 
integrate multiple forms of data (e.g., new greenhouse/field experiments, 
existing long term field data, soil microbial sequencing data), learn new 
modeling and molecular skills (e.g., Species Distribution Modeling, Integral 
Projection Modeling, high-throughput single cell sequencing), mentor 
undergraduate and graduate students, and write papers.

Dr. Chris Searcy is a landscape ecologist who will advise the postdoc on 
modeling and landscape ecology, and Dr. Michelle Afkhami will advise on 
plant-microbe and molecular methods. This research will be done at University 
of Miami and the nearby Archbold Biological Station 
(http://www.archbold-station.org/).

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, or a related 
discipline, and experience conducting research with plants, microbes, and/or 
modern genomic/transcriptomic methods and bioinformatics. Other important 
qualifications are a strong work ethic, problem-solving and time management 
skills, a track record of publications, and independent research experience. A 
background in demographic modeling, species distribution modeling, and/or data 
analysis in R are desirable but not required.

This is a one year position with an expectation for renewal provided that 
first-year performance is satisfactory. Start date is flexible, but an ideal 
candidate would be able to begin February 2019 or soon thereafter.

Please send your CV (including contact information for 3 references), a short 
description of previous experience (1-2 paragraphs), and reasons for wanting 
this job (1-2 paragraphs) to Dr. Michelle Afkhami (mea...@miami.edu). 

Learn more about the position at 
https://michelleafkhami.wordpress.com/join-the-lab/. Review of applications 
will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.


[ECOLOG-L] Postdoctoral position in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial Interactions

2018-07-31 Thread Michelle Afkhami
Postdoctoral position in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial 
Interactions (Department of Biology, University of Miami, Miami, FL)

Drs. Michelle Afkhami and Christopher Searcy are interested in hiring a 
co-advised postdoctoral scholar in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial 
Interactions in the Department of Biology at University of Miami (Miami, 
FL).

The postdoctoral scholar will conduct research to investigate the role 
of plant-microbial interactions in the landscape ecology and 
conservation of plant species in the imperiled Florida Scrub ecosystem. 
We envision approximately 50% of the postdoctoral scholar’s time (or 
more depending on her or his interests) will include projects focusing 
on the effects of plant-microbial interactions on landscape-scale 
species distributions and/or plant demography. The other ~50% of time 
will be spent on postdoc-developed projects. We are looking for a 
postdoctoral scholar who can bring his or her perspective to the system 
and develop new ideas to pursue. The postdoc will have the opportunity 
to collect, analyze, and integrate multiple forms of data (e.g., new 
greenhouse/field experiments, existing long term field data, soil 
microbial sequencing data) and/or learn new modeling and molecular 
skills (e.g., Species Distribution Modeling, Integral Projection 
Modeling, high-throughput single cell sequencing). He or she will also 
have the opportunity to mentor undergraduate and graduate students and 
write manuscripts as lead author.

Dr. Chris Searcy is a landscape ecologist who will advise the postdoc on 
modeling and landscape ecology, and Dr. Michelle Afkhami will advise on 
plant-microbe and molecular methods. This research will be done at 
University of Miami and the nearby Archbold Biological Station 
(http://www.archbold-station.org/).

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, or a 
related discipline, and experience conducting research with plants, 
microbes, and/or modeling (ideally plant-microbial interactions). Other 
important qualifications are a background in statistical methods, a 
strong work ethic, problem-solving and time management skills, a track 
record of publications, and independent research experience. A 
background in microbial community sequencing, demographic modeling, 
species distribution modeling, and/or data analysis in R are desirable 
but not required.

This is a one year position with an expectation for renewal provided 
that first-year performance is satisfactory. Start date is flexible, but 
an ideal candidate would begin immediately or as soon as possible.

We will be at Ecological Society of America meeting next week and can 
meet with attending perspective postdocs there.

All interested applicants, please send your CV (including contact 
information for 3 references), a description of previous experience (~1 
short paragraphs), and reason(s) for wanting this job (~1 short 
paragraph) to Dr. Michelle Afkhami (mea...@miami.edu). 

Learn more about the position at 
https://michelleafkhami.wordpress.com/join-the-lab/. Review of 
applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is 
filled.


[ECOLOG-L] Postdoctoral position in Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial Interactions

2018-04-11 Thread Michelle Afkhami
Drs. Michelle Afkhami and Christopher Searcy are interested in hiring a 
postdoctoral scholar studying Landscape Ecology of Plant-Microbial
Interactions in the Department of Biology at University of Miami (Miami,
FL).

The postdoctoral scholar will conduct research to investigate the role
of plant-microbial interactions in the landscape ecology and
conservation of plant species in the imperiled Florida Scrub ecosystem.
We envision approximately 50% of the postdoctoral scholar’s time (or
more depending on her or his interests) will include projects focusing
on the effects of plant-microbial interactions on landscape-scale
species distributions and/or plant demography. The other ~50% of time
will be spent on postdoc-developed projects. We are looking for a
postdoctoral scholar who can bring his or her perspective to the system
and develop new ideas to pursue. The postdoc will have the opportunity
to collect, analyze, and integrate multiple forms of data (e.g., new
greenhouse/field experiments, existing long term field data, soil
microbial sequencing data), learn new modeling and molecular skills
(e.g., Species Distribution Modeling, Integral Projection Modeling,
high-throughput single cell sequencing), mentor undergraduate and
graduate students, and write papers.

Dr. Chris Searcy is a landscape ecologist who will advise the postdoc on
modeling and landscape ecology, and Dr. Michelle Afkhami will advise on
plant-microbe and molecular methods. This research will be done at
University of Miami and the nearby Archbold Biological Station
(http://www.archbold-station.org/).

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, or a
related discipline, and experience conducting research with plants,
microbes, and/or modeling (ideally plant-microbial interactions). Other
important qualifications are a background in statistical methods, a
strong work ethic, problem-solving and time management skills, a track
record of publications, and independent research experience. A
background in demographic modeling, species distribution modeling,
microbial community sequencing, and/or data analysis in R are desirable
but not required.

This is a one year position with an expectation for renewal provided
that first-year performance is satisfactory. Start date is flexible, but
an ideal candidate would be able to begin June 2018 or soon thereafter.

Please send your CV (including contact information for 3 references), a
short description of previous experience, and reasons for wanting this
job to Dr. Michelle Afkhami (mea...@miami.edu). Learn more about the
position at https://michelleafkhami.wordpress.com/join-the-lab/.