Postdoctoral fellow in Bioinformatics with focus on antibiotic

Updated: over 1 year ago
Deadline: 25 Aug 2022

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Postdoctoral fellow in Bioinformatics with focus on antibiotic resistance.

We seek a PhD for a full-time postdoctoral position (24 months) within the research group led by Professor Joakim Larsson, Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The focus of the research group is on antibiotic resistance development, particularly the role of the external environment. The group consists of 1 professor, 2 associate professors, 6 postdoctoral fellows, 1 PhD students, 1 biologist, 1 research assistant, a guest researcher as well as master students. (https://www.gu.se/en/biomedicine/about-us/department-of-infectious-diseases/joakim-larsson-group ). Larsson also leads the Centre of Antibiotic Resistance Research at University of Gothenburg (CARe; www.gu.se/en/care ) with over 100 researchers. The work will be carried out in close collaboration with Johan Bengtsson-Palme’s research group at Chalmers University of Technology (https://microbiology.se ) which, currently consists of 1 postdoctoral fellow, 2 PhD students and a research assistant, as well as thesis students. The groups have extensive collaboration with other universities, nationally and internationally. The research is interdisciplinary and has significant funding through e.g. the Swedish Research Councils VR and Formas.


Subject area 

Bioinformatics with focus on antibiotic resistance.


Subject area description 

The development of antibiotic resistance has been driven by use of antibiotics, but antibacterial biocides also have the potential to select for antibiotic resistance. However, knowledge of which genes that contribute to biocide resistance and could be associated with antibiotic resistance is sparse. To some extent, such genes are documented in the BacMet database which we have developed (http://bacmet.biomedicine.gu.se ), but this collection of resistance genes is only scratching the surface of all biocide resistance that exists among bacteria in the environment. We are now looking for a postdoctoral fellow to continue the important work on bioinformatic analysis of biocide and antibiotic resistance to answer the question whether increasing biocide resistance would be a threat to human health.


Duties 

The recruited person is expected to continue the development of the BacMet database to make it more targeted towards biocidal substances and products in addition to resistance genes. The tasks include bioinformatic sequence analysis, literature studies and database and web programming. The work will also include investigations of the prevalence of the identified resistance genes in genomes and metagenomes, and ecological modeling of biocide and antibiotic resistance on local and global scales. The recruited person will work closely with both the groups of Joakim Larsson and Johan Bengtsson-Palme. Within the groups there are already competence within e.g. bioinformatics, microbiology, molecular biology and environmental sciences, and we collaborate closely with clinicians, analytical chemists as well as with scientists outside the natural science domain. The work is expected to be conducted in collaboration, and also includes authoring/co-authoring scientific publications and presenting research at international scientific conferences.


Eligibility 

The eligibility criteria for employing teaching staff are set out in Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance and in the Appointment Procedure for Teaching Posts at the University of Gothenburg. 

To be eligible for appointment as a postdoc, the applicant is required to have a doctoral degree, a doctoral degree in art or a foreign degree that is deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree. This eligibility requirement must be met before the employment decision is made. 

In the first instance, those who have completed their degree no more than three years prior to the end of the application period shall be considered. Those who have completed their degree more than three years prior to the end of the application period may also be considered in the first instance if special grounds exist. Special grounds relate to leave of absence due to illness, parental leave, commissions of trust within union organisations, service within the defence services or other similar circumstances, as well as clinical service or service/assignment relevant to the subject area.  


Assessment criteria 

Regulations for the evaluation of qualifications for academic positions are given in Chapter 4, Section 3 - 4 of the Higher Education Ordinance.

PhD in relevant area, as well as excellent scientific production in relation to the time passed since completing PhD are required. Documented experience with bioinformatics is also required. A high degree of independence is strongly meriting, as well as extensive experience of programming in Perl/PHP/Python, experience with relevant antibiotic resistance research, mathematical modeling of ecological systems, excellent communicative skills particularly regarding verbal and written scientific English, a developed way of critical thinking, experience from working at different labs and an ability to work successfully in a group are all additional qualifying criteria. Previous experience with biological sequence databases, analysis of sequence data from genomes and/or metagenomes, and experience with ecological effects of stress on microorganisms is also meriting.


Employment 

The employment is full time and temporary, two years with the possibility of one year's extension, with placement at the Institute of Biomedicine. First day of employment as agreed. 


Contact information 

If you have any questions about the position, please contact: professor Joakim Larsson ([email protected]) or reseacrh fellow Johan Bengtsson-Palme([email protected]).


Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here: https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande  

Application 

Submit your application via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.  

The application should contain:

- A cover letter giving a brief description of previous research experience, and a motivation to why you are applying

- A CV including a list of publications

- Proof of completed PhD

- Contact details of two references

Applications must be received by: 2022-08-25

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/  

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.



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