[Coral-List] PhD position at LMU Munich: Genomics of species identification in sponges (Phylum Porifera)

[Gert Woerheide]

(apologies for cross-posting)

Dear colleagues,

we have an exciting opportunity open for a PhD student in sponge
genomics (36 months position).
Please forward the position description below to potential applicants.

With best regards

Gert

********

*PhD position in genomics of species identification in sponges (Phylum
Porifera)*

We invite applications for a 36-month PhD position in the project
SpongeTaxonOMICs funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) within the framework of the Priority
Program SPP 1991 Taxon-OMICS. The project is located at the Department
of Earth- and Environmental Sciences (Chair of Paleontology and
Geobiology) and the GeoBio-CenterLMU of the
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München.

Sponges (Porifera) are difficult to identify and DNA barcoding does not
reliably work for all lineages. In this project, we will develop a novel
species identification assay based on target enrichment and Illumina
sequencing. The project involves shallow sequencing of several Tethya
genomes and comparisons against our recently sequenced Tethya wilhelma
genome to identify informative loci for species identification. The
developed assay will be verified against a test set of Tethya species
and by museomics, testing samples of family Tethyidae primarily from the
Queensland Museum (Brisbane, Australia) but also from other resources.
The developed assay will subsequently be expanded to broader taxonomic
scope. The Sponge Barcoding Database (www.spongebarcoding.org) will be
further developed and adapted to accommodate new data for species
identification.

We are seeking a highly motivated applicant, ideally trained in
evolutionary bioinformatics, with excellent and demonstrated
bioinformatics expertise as well as a sound background in biology, who
is willing to tackle the challenging task of working with the genomes of
non-bilaterian animals. Laboratory skills are not necessary but will be
considered a plus. The successful candidate will also contribute to the
lab's ongoing genome sequencing efforts and contribute to expand the
bioinformatic tools available in the lab. High-performance computing is
available in the lab (LINUX cluster, Galaxy Server) as well as through
the Leibniz Rechenzentrum (www.lrz.de).

The successful candidate will join an international and dynamic lab
focussing on the geobiology and evolution of marine animals. More
information about the lab can be found at www.geobiology.eu. There will
also be ample opportunity to interact with PhD students and faculty of
the new Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training
Network (ITN) “Comparative Genomics of Non-Model Invertebrates” (IGNITE;
www.itn-ignite.eu), that starts on January 01, 2018.

Requirements: M.Sc. in Biology, Bioinformatics or a related field;
demonstrated expertise and understanding of molecular evolution
including phylogenetic methods, expertise in processing and analysing
next generation sequencing data; excellent English language skills;
programming skills (e.g., in commonly used bioinformatic languages such
Perl, Python, R, etc.) and experience with LINUX. Evidence of this
expertise must be provided. German language skills are not necessary,
the working language of the group is English.
The position is available for 36 months, and will be paid according to
the German salary scheme TV-L E13 (65%).

Application: Send application including letter of motivation, CV, if
available PDFs of your most significant publications, and contact
details of 2 referees in a single PDF (only) by email to
geobiologie at geo.lmu.de. Informal enquiries may be directed to Professor
Gert Wörheide through the same email address.
Application deadline is 15 September 2017.

The Department of Earth- and Environmental Sciences, Palaeontology &
Geobiology of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich offers an
excellent multidisciplinary research environment, one of its particular
strength being due to the close interaction between Geosciences and the
Faculty of Biology in the framework of the GeoBioCenterLMU
(http://www.geobio-center.uni-muenchen.de).

The LMU Munich is the leading research university in Germany, with a
more than 500-year-long tradition, and builds upon its success in the
Excellence Initiative, a Germany-wide competition promoting top-level
university research. Munich has been repeatedly voted Germany's most
livable city and is among the Top 5 most livable cities worldwide.
The LMU Munich is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and
has an affirmative action policy for the disabled.

Please note: Education is free in Germany and PhD students do not have
to pay student fees, except a nominal registration fee of about 110€ per
semester, which covers some costs for public transportation in Munich.


-- 
Prof. Dr. Gert Wörheide
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Division of Paleontology & Geobiology
& GeoBio-CenterLMU
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and
Director, Bavarian State Collections of Palaeontology and Geology
Richard-Wagner-Straße 10
80333 München
Germany

Phone: +49 (89) 2180-6718
Fax: +49 (89) 2180-6601
E-Mail: woerheide at lmu.de
www.palmuc.de | www.geobiology.eu
Labnews: www.facebook.com/molpalaeo
Tweets: twitter.com/gwoerhe

New ITN IGNITE to start in 2018: www.itn-ignite.eu

Publications:
www.publications.woerheide.eu
orcid.org/0000-0002-6380-7421

GPG-Fingerprint:
*9644 7211 5BE6 9EF5 3C5C  80B9 8B8D 2D6D 8DCC 8499*