Recruitment

Postdoc: MississippiState.ButterflyGenomics

We are seeking to hire a postdoctoral fellow to work on the comparative and population genomics of Heliconius butterflies. The postdoc will be part of the Regulatory Logic program, a collaborative research and training effort by the University of Puerto Rico and Mississippi State University that seeks to better understand the genomic and developmental changes that drive butterfly wing pattern diversity. The postdoctoral fellow will specifically focus on the assembly of reference genomes using long read sequences, orthology and evolution of color patterning genes across butterflies, and association mapping of regulatory switches responsible for the adaptive radiation of Heliconius wing patterns. Recently, we narrowed the genomic regions responsible for wing pattern variation in Heliconius erato to a about a dozen non-coding regulatory regions on four chromosomes. This project aims to (1) identify the regulatory sequence and structural variants across the chromosomes associated with color variation (2) characterize the mode and tempo of evolution at color pattern genes, and (3) reconstruct the evolutionary history of adaptive color pattern divergence among Heliconius races and species. These data are part of a large collaborative effort that aims to combine the whole genome data with transcriptomics (RNA-seq), DNA accessibility and methylation (CHiP-seq, ATAC-seq) and functional tests (CRISPR) to better understand the evolution and development of wing pattern variation.

This postdoc position will be based in the Counterman Lab at MSU’s Starkville campus, but will be expected to visit and work closely with collaborating labs. The postdoc will work in coordination with a collaborative team of Heliconius researchers including Robert Reed’s lab at Cornell University, Arnaud Martin’s lab at George Washington University, and Owen McMillan’s lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in addition to the labs at MSU and UPR.

The postdoc will be expected to lead their research project and produce first-author publications, with the mentorship from the project PIs. Postdocs will also be encouraged and supported to develop novel research projects that relate to the goals of the program that could result in intellectually independent work.

Required qualifications: The applicant must have a PhD or equivalent in a biological sciences discipline, a record of scholarly publication, and significant experience working with genomic datasets in a Unix environment.

Preferred qualifications: Strong preference will be given to applicants with any of the following skills: genome assembly, gene family evolution, and population genomic analyses.

The project team is committed to increasing diversity in STEM, and we especially encourage applications from women, minorities, veterans and other underrepresented groups.

Application: Please send a single PDF containing a CV, a statement of research interests, and contact information for three references to regulatorylogic@gmail.com with “Postdoc:ButterflyGenomics“ in the subject line. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. Salary will be determined based on experience level.

Graduate position: MississippiState.ButterflyGenomics

We are recruiting for two NSF funded PhD assistantships interested in studying the genomic changes responsible for wing color pattern variation in Heliconius butterflies. The projects offer opportunities for students to develop projects that integrate population genomics, gene expression assays, references genomes, and genome-editing to better understand how changes in the genome cause phenotypic variation. These PhD assistantships are part of an NSF EPSCoR funded collaboration between Mississippi State University (Brian Counterman) and the University of Puerto Rico (Riccardo Papa) aimed to provide training in genomics through the study of butterfly wing patterns.

Students will have opportunities to work with our live Heliconius colonies at the STRI rearing faculties in Gamboa, Panama during the first two years. At Mississippi State University, students will have opportunities to work closely with other labs participating in the NSF EPSCoR: Federico Hoffmann (gene family evolution) and Ryan Range (Pattern Development). The students will be enrolled in the PhD program in the Department of Biological Sciences, but will be expected to have extended visits and work closely with a collaborative team of Heliconius researchers including Robert Reed’s lab at Cornell University, Arnaud Martin’s lab at George Washington University, and Owen McMillan’s lab at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in addition to the labs at MSU and UPR.

The Graduate Program in the Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University offers a PhD in Biological Sciences. There is a vibrant and growing graduate program with over 60 students funded through teaching and/or research assistantships. Further details about the PhD program can be found in Graduate Handbook here: http://www.biology.msstate.edu/pdf/2016-BIO-Graduate-Student-Handbook.pdf

MSU is located in Starkville, a quaint college town in northeast Mississippi. The small town of nearly 25,000 permanent residents offers a diverse and progressive community with strong town-and-gown relationships that host several cultural festivals and events throughout the year. The university is surrounded by remnants of Blackbelt prairies, agricultural experimental stations and the Sam B. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, which offer a diversity of local outdoor activities and research opportunities. MSU is centrally located in the southeastern United States, with Memphis ~2 hrs North and New Orleans ~5 hrs South, with a regional airport ~20 miles from MSU that offers daily flights to Atlanta.

Required qualifications: The applicant must have a BS or equivalent in a biological sciences discipline, experience working with genomic datasets in a Unix environment AND/OR basic molecular biology laboratory methods.

Preferred qualifications: Preference will be given to applicants with that have a record of scholarly publication, completed an MS in a biological sciences discipline, and/or any of the following skills: experience with high-throughput sequence data, Unix environment, genomic analyses, performing CRISPR-cas9 gene editing.

The project team is committed to increasing diversity in STEM, and we especially encourage applications from women, minorities, veterans and other underrepresented groups.

Application: Please send a single PDF containing a CV, unofficial transcripts, and contact information for three references to regulatorylogic@gmail.com with “GraduateStudent:ButterflyGenomics“ in the subject line. Review of applications will begin January 31, 2018 and continue until the position is filled. The start date/semester is flexible. Please contact me at bcounterman@biology.msstate.edu with questions about the positions.