Postdoctoral Research Assoc

The University of Georgia (UGA), a land-grant and sea-grant university with statewide commitments and responsibilities is the state's oldest, most comprehensive, and most diversified institution of higher education (http://www.uga.edu/). UGA is currently ranked among the top 20 public universities in U.S. News & World Report. The University's main campus is located in Athens, approximately 65 miles northeast of Atlanta, with extended campuses in Atlanta, Griffin, Gwinnett, and Tifton. UGA was founded in 1785 by the Georgia General Assembly as the first state-chartered University in the country. UGA employs approximately 1,800 full-time instructional faculty and more than 7,600 full-time staff. The University's enrollment exceeds 36,000 students including over 27,500 undergraduates and over 8,500 graduate and professional students. Academic programs reside in 17 schools and colleges, as well as a medical partnership with Augusta University housed on the UGA Health Sciences Campus in Athens.

8 am-5 pm, Monday -Friday. Schedule may vary based on duties

The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation or protected veteran status.

The appointee has received a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate (e.g., D.V.M., Sc.D., M.D. , PharmD ), usually recently, in a field directly related to the appointee's assigned responsibilities.

PhD in Microbiology, Biological Oceanography, Ecology or Marine Sciences

This post doctoral researcher position is funded by the GoMRI ECOGIG Grant. The candidate will be responsible for conducting research at sea on board research vessels and in the laboratory in support of the Gulf of Mexico project. The position entails microbiology, biogeochemistry, and microbial genomics based research. The position is for one year (starting Sept. 1 2018), with the possibility of extension for 1 to 2 additional years, pending availability of funding and outstanding job performance.

Biogeochemistry, Bioinformatics, Advanced laboratory skills, Geochemical analyses,

-standing on feet for hours at the time

-lifting <10 pounds (lab)

-lifting >10 pounds (at sea)

-working at the microscope

-working at sea on research vessels

Sample Preparation and Lab work

The selected individual candidate will process molecular biological samples (filters and whole water) from the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of California, and other places, as directed, as part of an ongoing data generation and synthesis effort. S/he will be responsible for extracting DNA and RNA from samples collected in the field, prepping samples for 16S, metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic sequencing (including library prep), and shipping samples off for sequencing. The candidate will be involved in single cell oriented work, including FISH, CARD-FISH and RAMAN spectroscopy.

Omics Data Analysis

The selected individual will generate, optimize and tune scripts in Python and R for particular bioinformatics jobs/data sets. S/he will be responsible for QA/QC of sequencing data and for bioinformatics work up using the Anvi'o platform as well as custom Python and R programs developed in house. Detailed bioinformatics duties will include assembly, binning and comparative assessment of meta omics data sets as well as comprehensive analysis of our meta omics data sets in the context of environmental and microbial activity data and in comparison to other meta omics data sets as well as genomes/transcriptomes of individual organisms.

Preparing manuscripts for publication

The selected individual is expected to not only generate figures for papers but to analyze and synthesize data to generate scientific publications. Success and efficiency will require a deep knowledge of the literature and of existing omics data sets. S/he generate illustrations and tables for peer reviewed papers as well as write the papers. Manuscript development will be carried out jointly with Dr. Joye.

Research Expeditions

The selected individual may be required to participate in oceanographic research expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of California, and other places where the Joye Group is funded to do work. On research expeditions, the candidate will be expected to process sediment and water samples, perform microbial and/or geochemical analyses, and to conduct experiments aimed at tracking rates of microbial processes. Microbial rate assessment may require that the candidate gain certification to work with radioisotopes (if such skills have not already been mastered).