Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Bioinformatics and Ecological Genomics, University of Guelph, Canada

I am looking for a new Postdoctoral Fellow. Here the official posting:

Land Acknowledgement
The University of Guelph resides on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We recognize this gathering place where we work and learn is home to many past, present, and future First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Our acknowledgement of the land is our declaration of our collective responsibility to this place and its peoples’ histories, rights, and presence.
 
General Information (Six PDF Positions Available)
This post-doctoral position will be part of the Food from Thought initiative funded through a Canada First Research Excellence Award: https://foodfromthought.ca/. Contributing to this large endeavour to improve food security and sustainability, our goal is to generate bioinformatics strategies for the prediction of biodiversity and ecosystem services from diverse data types, such as -omics data, digital photographs, and/or environmental data. Data analysis has begun to catch up with the pace of data generation, and in these times where understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change and feeding a growing human population is of utmost importance, we need to turn our sights on connecting different sources of data and extracting actionable meaning from them. The successful applicants will utilize existing and new biological and environmental datasets, along with additional external data, with the goal of predicting ecosystem services, ecosystem health status, and biodiversity metrics using approaches such as statistical learning, machine learning, and network analysis. This may include such important factors as pollination, invasive species resistance, pest control, trophic interactions, water quality, and others. Successful applicants will be part of a cohort of six postdoctoral scholars focused on bioinformatics and ecosystem services, who will work together with a multidisciplinary team of Principal Investigators, students, staff, industry members, and communities.
 
What We Offer
·       The opportunity to engage in creative and impactful research relevant for sustainability and 

        food security
·       The opportunity to collaborate with researchers in a variety of fields, including computer 

        science, statistics, ecology, evolutionary biology, and genomics
·       Guidance to build valuable skills and to be well prepared for diverse future careers (skills 

        include scientific research; collaboration; communication with diverse stakeholders; 

        technical skills relating to coding, data analysis, graphics, code review, and publishing of 

        bioinformatics tools)
·       Access to unique data sets and participation in collaborative partnerships with academics, 

        industry, and governmental agencies
·       Regular, inclusive, and supportive mentorship from multiple PIs with diverse expertise to 

        support your research, career, and impact/outreach goals
·       Participation in a collaborative working group of PDFs, workshops, and conferences
·       Some monetary support for professional development, workshop participation, and 

        conference attendance as well as open-access publishing
 
Specific Information (PDF in Bioinformatics and Ecological Genomics)
We are seeking candidates interested in developing bioinformatics tools for taxonomic and functional annotation of multi-kingdom samples. Data are generated from amplicon-based approaches and/or metagenomics/totalRNA. We want to estimate and potentially forecast how local biodiversity is shaped by regional diversity, functional shifts within communities, spatial gradients of biotic and abiotic factors, seasonal climatic constraints, local habitat heterogeneity, and anthropogenic stressors. 
Anticipated deliverables from the research include: one or more scientific publication(s), well-commented and documented code that is made publicly available by the end of the project such that that it is user friendly and can respond to future data availability. The successful PDFs will also be expected to participate in a PDF Working Group (which may include collegial discussion, collaboration, and/or reciprocal code reviews prior to publication), in annual Knowledge Mobilization Working Group Meetings, as well as in at least one relevant scientific conference. The successful applicant will also play a role in co-mentoring undergraduate or graduate students.
The selected candidate will be based in the research group of Dr. Dirk Steinke (Adjunct Professor of Integrative Biology & Bioinformatics) and will also benefit from working closely with a co-advisor with complementary expertise in statistics or computer science as well as other collaborators.
 
Required Qualifications & Attributes
·       Must hold a PhD in bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, genomics, or a          

        related discipline
·       Published at least one first-authored paper in a peer-reviewed journal 
·       Experience with coding in at least one computer language (intermediate to advanced level 

        required; skills must include: data formatting and filtering, data exploration and quality 

        checking, graphics, data analysis; prior experience in usage of high-performance 

        computing resources an asset; prior experience in software development and code testing 

        an asset)
·       Experience with at least two of the following: statistical analysis, analysis of DNA 

        sequencing data, genome assembly, machine learning, and/or statistical learning, 
·       Commitment to transparent and reproducible science (evidence of this commitment could 

        include prior publication of code and/or a thorough methods section in your prior 

        publication(s))
·       Commitment to respectful interactions with others and to equity, diversity & inclusion 

        (evidence of this attribute could include: prior or planned mentorship activities or 

        collaborations; participation in relevant committees or working groups; your personal 

        communication practices, etc.)
 
 
Application Requirements
A completed application will consist of:
·       Cover letter describing your interest in the position and also highlighting how you meet the 

        required qualifications and attributes
·       Curriculum vitae (including education history, experience and skills, publications, 

        conference presentations, outreach or leadership activities, interests)
·       Names and contact information for three referees (You may feel to include academic 

        advisors, collaborators, and/or an individual you have mentored.)
·       PDF reprint of 1-3 publications (should be first author of at least one work published or in 

        press; pre-prints are welcome among the selected submissions)

Please combine all of the above components into a single PDF and email to:
Dr. Dirk Steinke: dsteinke@uoguelph.ca
 
Length of Appointment & Salary
The PDF position is available for two years. Goal setting will be completed collaboratively early in the position, and progression will be discussed through regular meetings and reviewed at the one-year mark. The salary is $47,000 Canadian dollars annually, plus 17.2% value in benefits. The selected candidate will also benefit through access to $5,000 in travel funds for workshops and conferences and at least $3,000 to publish in open-access venues.
 
Deadline
Review of applications will commence on December 15 and proceed until the position is filled. The start date will be as soon as possible thereafter (subject to discussion with the successful applicant).
 
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
The Steinke lab strongly supports diversity in science, and applicants from under-represented racial, cultural, gender-identity, physical ability, and/or neurological spectrums are particularly encouraged to apply. Applications can be received immediately; however, evaluation of the applications will not commence until December 15, 2022 in order to allow for a diverse applicant pool to be evaluated.