PhD position in computational genomics for natural products discovery

Would you like to participate in an exciting

interdisciplinary European network of scientists to transform natural

product discovery using computational omics approaches? Do you enjoy

collaboration and teamwork while being at the cutting edge of scientific

progress? We are looking for a PhD candidate

(f/m/d; E13 TV-L, 65%) with expertise in computational genomics to

pioneer new technologies for omics-based natural product discovery.

Microorganisms are an untapped resource for natural bioactive

compounds that constitute a source of candidates for the development of

pharmaceuticals and crop protection agents. Computational integration of

different types of omics data, such as genomics and metabolomics

profiles, constitutes a promising avenue to uncover this potential.

Within the European network, a PhD position is available at the University Hospital Tübingen within the group Translational Natural Products Genome Mining.

In the project, the candidate will develop innovative computational

approaches to chart the biosynthetic diversity found in microbial

(meta)genomes. You will improve current software and workflows and

develop phylogenetic methods of biosynthetic enzymes to enhance

predictions of their metabolic products. Extensive international

collaboration is foreseen, as these positions are part of a European

training network and also will include a secondment at an international

company. Specifically, the Doctoral Network MAGic-MOLFUN aims to

integrate Natural Products Genome Mining, computational metabolomics and

state-of-the art metabolic engineering and pathway discovery to develop

ground-breaking tools and approaches to improve natural products

discovery and characterization in bacteria and fungi, two major sources

of bioactive compounds for applications in medicine, agriculture, food

and biotechnology.

The research is embedded within the Translational Genome Mining for

Natural Products Group at the Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical

Informatics (IBMI) and the Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and

Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT) led by Prof. Dr. Nadine Ziemert. We

are a highly interdisciplinary and enthusiastic group at the interface

of bioinformatics, molecular and environmental microbiology, and

phylogenetics. We are currently developing bioinformatic tools for the

discovery of natural products from microbial genomes, elucidating the

evolutionary history of their biosynthetic gene clusters and tracing

their distribution in the environment.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and complementary team player with all or a subset of the following skills:

• a solid academic record (MSc) in bioinformatics, biology, chemistry or a related discipline
• experience in computational omics analysis and proficiency in programming (in, e.g., Python)
• at least basic to intermediate statistical and mathematical skills
• demonstrable experience in working with next-generation sequencing data
• affinity with microbiology, metabolism and/or biosynthetic pathways
• team player attitude, enjoying multidisciplinary science
• a very good level of oral and written English.
• to

  accept a position within the Marie-Curie training network, researchers

  must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies,

  etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary (i.e., Germany) for

  more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment

  date.

We are offering you an exciting research position at a highly

renowned university, in a welcoming, interdisciplinary and agile team

which is well-connected across institutes internationally. Prof. Ziemert

is committed to ensuring you the possibility to conduct research with a

high amount of autonomy, a collegial work atmosphere and ongoing career

mentoring. In addition to exciting research PhD project, you will

receive a comprehensive transferable skill training that includes a

personal career development plan that will equip you for todays’ demands

of a successful career in industry and academia.

We provide remuneration in accordance with the TV-L (collective

agreement for public employees of the German federal states) 65% as well

as all corresponding benefits, e.g., extensive visa and onboarding

assistance, 30 days/year of paid vacation, flexible working hours,

discounted public transportation etc, for 3 years initially with the

probability of elongation. International students will be supported by

the Welcome Center before and during their stay at the University of

Tuebingen or the University Hospital of Tuebingen. They can provide

guidance and help with visa issues and can give advice about housing.

We value diversity in science, and particularly look forward to

receiving applications from women, non-binary people, and researchers

from underrepresented groups across cultures, genders, ethnicities, and

lifestyles. We actively promote the compatibility of science, work,

studies, family life and care work. In case of equal qualification and

experience, physically challenged applicants are given preference.

Please send your application (including motivation letter, curriculum

vitae, certificates, representative publications, academic references,

and links to publicly available code examples (e.g., GitHub, OSF, etc.)

as a single PDF to Prof. Dr. Nadine Ziemert: nadine.ziemert@uni-tuebingen.de .

Application deadline: January 15th, 2023.