Do you want to pursue a PhD in computational biology? Are you interested in the genome diversity of bacteriophages across space and time? Do you want to combine bioinformatics and mathematical modelling to study the evolutionary factors that impact bacteriophage diversity? Then we are looking for you!
Viruses that infect bacteria – bacteriophages – are the most abundant biological entities on Earth. They contribute significantly to bacterial ecology and evolution and hence impact the function of all ecosystems. Due to their parasitic lifestyle, phages are constantly under selection, resulting in an enormous phage genome diversity. Metagenomics, i.e., bulk sequencing the genetic content of environmental samples, has recently revealed a surprising amount of phage diversity. Particularly, the within-species diversity of phages varies to a large extent in natural populations, and little is known about the distribution of phage diversity across space and time, and which factors drive this diversity.
In this project, you will combine bioinformatics and modelling to untangle the drivers of phage diversity across space and time. Potential factors influencing phage diversity are host diversity, presence of other phages, and environmental factors like spatial structure. You will compare phage diversity in different types of environments, such as marine and soil environments. Particularly, you will develop bioinformatics pipelines to analyze public phage genome and metagenome data with the aim to estimate phage diversity. Additionally, you will formulate mathematical and computational models of phage evolution to explain observed patterns of diversity. You will refine these models based on the observations from the genomic data.
Beyond the scientific and potential application merits, you will build a network for your future career both within and outside Wageningen University.
You have:
- a successfully completed MSc degree in bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, applied mathematics, or another related field;
- proficiency in programming (e.g., python);
- experience in high-throughput sequencing data analysis and comparative genomics or strong interest to develop it;
- strong affinity with the development of mathematical models and their application to genomic data;
- fascination for the evolution of microbes and their viruses and a quantitative mindset;
- a proactive attitude and teamwork skills and are committed to obtaining a PhD ;
-a very good level of oral and written English. You are required to show a certification of English skills. For more information about the required level please take a look at: PhD entry requirements.
A PhD is a learning trajectory. If you do not yet have a track-record showing all the requirements but do have a strong motivation to acquire the skills necessary to make this project a success, we would like to encourage you to apply.
For more information and an online application form, see www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/phd-position-in-spatiotemporal-diversity-of-phages.htm