The Baliga group at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is seeking enthusiastic Postdoctoral Fellow candidates in computational biology or related fields to study how long-term environmental changes like ocean warming or acidification will affect the resilience of coral species and key microscopic phytoplankton like diatoms. The Baliga group develops computational approaches to decipher the regulatory landscape of ecologically important organisms using next-generation sequencing data and dynamical experimental approaches.
Focus Areas
There are two funded cross-cutting projects to understand the gene regulatory and metabolic mechanisms by which:
1. Coral species and their associated symbionts have evolved varying thermal tolerance strategies to warming oceans at different reefs across the globe.
2. Diatoms, key primary producers in many marine ecosystems, can shift their regulatory landscape and alter their resilience in acidifying oceans.
Successful applicants will get to work in a vibrant interdisciplinary team of microbiologists, molecular biologists, computational biologists, and data scientists to investigate foundational questions in microbial ecology by advancing tools and technologies for systems analysis of microbial community behavior. The Baliga lab values creative scientists with cross-disciplinary training and demonstrated the ability to work independently and as a part of a team. Candidates with a Ph.D. in computational biology, machine learning, systems biology or bioinformatics, or a related field are preferred. Strong analytical, programming, and communication skills are essential. Additional experience in building biological network models including the design and implementation of algorithms applied to the analysis of biological data is a plus. Experience with common bioinformatics methods, tools, websites, and data resources is important, in particular, high-throughput data analysis tools and techniques, statistical analysis, genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analysis are preferred.
Applicants should include a brief (1-2 paragraph) statement summarizing their prior research, future plans, and their desired research focus area as they pertain to this position. Materials must be submitted on the ISB Careers page.