PhD Position at the Computational Biology of RNA Processing

The Institute

The Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) is an international biomedical research institute of excellence, based in Barcelona, Spain, with more than 400 scientists from 44 countries. The CRG is composed by an interdisciplinary, motivated and creative scientific team which is supported both by a flexible and efficient administration and by high-end and innovative technologies.

In April 2021, the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) received the renewal of the 'HR Excellence in Research ' Award from the European Commission. This is a recognition of the Institute's commitment to developing an HR Strategy for Researchers, designed to bring the practices and procedures in line with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code).

Please, check out our Recruitment Policy

The role

The lab is seeking a candidate to cover a position for the implementation of methods to predict protein-coding genes from newly sequenced species across the tree of life. The candidate will also use long-read RNAseq to accurately annotate genomes, including high-quality annotation of both protein coding and non-coding genes, from selected species strategically placed at different phylogenetic lineages. The successful candidate will also integrate other omics datasets, such as different chromatin features, to uncover their relationship with gene emergence, expression and evolution.

About the lab

The overarching theme of the research in our lab is the understanding of the information encoded in genomic sequences, and how this information is processed in the pathway leading from DNA to protein sequences. More specifically, we are interested in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression and RNA processing, the relationship between molecular phenotypes and higher order endophenotypes and organismal phenotypes, and the identification of functional regions on the genome of all living beings. Our group is mostly computational, and we do both large scale data analysis and development of methods, but it has also an important experimental component. We participate in many large scale international functional genomics projects, such as ENCODE, GTEx, BluePrint and others.

Whom would we like to hire?

Professional experience

Must Have

• You have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research
• You have knowledge of Molecular Biology
• You have familiarity with Machine Learning methods

Education and training

• You hold a University Degree and a Master’s Degree in biomedical sciences within the European Higher Education System (minimum 300 ECTS) or an equivalent University Degree that allows to start a PhD thesis preferably by June 2023 and in any case, before the start of the work contract.

Languages

• You are proficient in English

Technical Skills

• You have strong programming skills: C, python, and other scripting languages
• You have strong algorithmic and statistical skills and familiarity with the R package
• You have familiarity with bioinformatics tools, mostly on sequence alignments and sequence pattern matching

Competences

• You have highly developed organisational skills
• You have the ability to interact with others, both with colleagues within the group and from other groups inside and outside the CRG
• You have good (academic) writing and presentation skills
• You are creative, motivated, curious and proactive
• You have critical thinking     

The Offer – Working Conditions

● Contract duration: 4 year FPI fellowship linked to the project.
● Estimated annual gross salary: Salary is commensurate with qualifications and consistent with our pay scales.
● Target start date: Within 3 months of FPI fellowship approval.

We provide a highly stimulating environment with state-of-the-art infrastructures, and unique professional career development opportunities. To check out our training and development portfolio, please visit our website in the training section.

We offer and promote a diverse and inclusive environment and welcomes applicants regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The CRG is committed to reconcile a work and family life of its employees and are offering extended vacation period and the possibility to benefit from flexible working hours.

Application Procedure

All applications must include:
1. A motivation letter addressed to Dr. Roderic Guigó.
2. A complete CV including contact details.
3. Contact details of two referees.

All applications must be addressed to Dr. Roderic Guigó and be submitted online on the "Apply" button below.

Selection Process

₋ Pre-selection: The pre-selection process will be based on qualifications and expertise reflected on the candidates CVS. It will be merit-based.

₋ Interview: Preselected candidates will be asked to pass a written test. Those passing the thresholds will be interviewed by Dr. Roderic Guigó and the CRG Graduate Committee in September.

₋ Offer Letter: Once the successful candidate is identified the Human Resources department will send a Job Offer, specifying the start day, salary, working conditions, among other important details.

Deadline: Please submit your application by September 5th, 2022.

Suggestions: The CRG believes in ongoing improvement and promotes a culture of feedback. This is one of the reasons we have in place, at your disposal as a candidate, a mechanism to gather your suggestions/complaints concerning your candidate experience in our recruitment processes. Your feedback really matters to us in our aim at creating a positive candidate journey. You can make a difference and help us improve by letting us know your suggestions through the following form.