Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH), Heidelberg University, Germany
A postdoctoral position (2 years with possible extensions) is available immediately in the evolutionary genomics group of Henrik Kaessmann.
We are seeking highly qualified and enthusiastic applicants with strong skills in computational biology/bioinformatics, ideally also with experience in data mining and comparative or evolutionary genome analyses.
We have been interested in a range of topics related to the functional evolution of mammalian genomes, including those of humans and other primates. In the framework of our research, we are generating comprehensive sets of RNA-seq data for a large collection of tissues from representatives of all major mammalian lineages (placental mammals, marsupials, and egg–laying monotremes) and evolutionary outgroups (e.g., birds). In conjunction with various high-throughput “omics” (e.g., epigenomic, metabolomic, proteomic) datasets, we perform integrated analyses to study the functional (expression) evolution of mammalian genomes across gene types, lineages, organs, cell types, developmental stages, chromosomes and sexes.
The postdoctoral fellow will be funded by a recently awarded ERC Consolidator Grant and perform integrated evolutionary/bioinformatics analyses based on data produced in our lab and available genomic data. The project will focus on analyses of new ontogenetic datasets generated in the framework of the ERC Grant, but the precise project will be developed together with the candidate.
The language of the institute is English and its members form a highly international group. The ZMBH is located in Heidelberg, a picturesque international city next to the large Odenwald forest and Neckar river. The city offers a very stimulating, diverse and collaborative research environment, with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg Institute of Theoretical Studies (HITS), and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research located in close proximity to the University.
For more information on the group and our institute more generally, please refer to our website at the ZMBH (http://www.zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de/Kaessmann/).
Please submit a CV, statement of research interest, and names of three references to: Henrik Kaessmann (h.kaessmann@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de).
-- Prof. Dr. Henrik Kaessmann Group leader in the DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance ZMBH - Center for Molecular Biology Heidelberg University Im Neuenheimer Feld 282 69120 Heidelberg
Germany
Selected recent publications:
Carelli, F.N., Hayakawa, T., Go, Y., Imai, H., Warnefors, M., and Kaessmann, H. (2016) The life history of retrocopies illuminates the evolution of new mammalian genes. Genome Res. 26: 301-314.
Cortez, D., Marin, R., Toledo-Flores, D., Froidevaux, L., Liechti, A., Waters, P.D., Grutzner, F., and Kaessmann, H. (2014) Origins and functional evolution of Y chromosomes across mammals. Nature 508: 488-493.
Necsulea, A., Soumillon, M., Warnefors, M., Liechti, A., Daish, T., Zeller, U., Baker, J.C., Grutzner, F., and Kaessmann, H. (2014) The evolution of lncRNA repertoires and expression patterns in tetrapods. Nature 505: 635-640.
Necsulea, A. and Kaessmann, H. (2014) Evolutionary dynamics of coding and noncoding transcriptomes. Nat. Rev. Genet. 5: 734-48.
Meunier, J., Lemoine, F., Soumillon, M., Liechti, A., Weier, M., Guschanski, K., Hu, H., Khaitovich, P., and Kaessmann, H. (2013) Birth and expression evolution of mammalian microRNA genes. Genome Res. 23: 34-45.
Julien, P., Brawand, D., Soumillon, M., Necsulea, A., Liechti, A., Schutz, F., Daish, T., Grutzner, F., and Kaessmann, H. (2012) Mechanisms and evolutionary patterns of mammalian and avian dosage compensation PLoS Biol. 5:e1001328.
Brawand, D., Soumillon, M., Necsulea, A., Julien, P., Csardi, G., Harrigan, P., Weier, M., Liechti, A., Aximu-Petri, A., Kircher, M., Albert, F.W., Zeller, U., Khaitovich, P., Grutzner, F., Bergmann, S., Nielsen, R., Paabo, S., and Kaessmann, H. (2011) The evolution of gene expression levels in mammalian organs. Nature 478: 343-348.
