Two open postdoc positions: Fisheries and adaptation genomics |
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We are currently looking for two highly motivated postdocs to join us. The first postdoc will work on an NSF-funded project aimed at elucidating the genomic underpinnings of adaptive divergence despite extensive gene flow in the Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia). The Atlantic silverside is a small estuarine fish that exhibits a remarkable degree of local adaptation in growth rates and a suite of other traits tightly associated with a climatic gradient across latitudes. Decades of prior lab and field studies have made the Atlantic silverside one of the marine species for which we have the best understanding of evolutionary tradeoffs among traits and drivers of selection causing adaptive divergence. Recently, our lab began examining the underlying genomic basis, and we have found striking patterns of differentiation involving multiple large inversions. Varying levels of gene flow across the species range create a natural experiment for testing general predictions about the genomic mechanisms that enable adaptive divergence in the face of gene flow, and key goals of the project include integrating patterns of variation in the wild with findings from trait mapping to 1) examine how genomic architectures underlying local adaptation vary across connectivity regimes and 2) elucidating the potential role of chromosomal rearrangements and other tight linkage among adaptive alleles in facilitating adaptation. The postdoc will have access to low-coverage whole genome sequencing for >1,000 individuals, a chromosome-level genome assembly, QTL maps, RNA-seq data, and will have flexibility to pursue different directions based on their interests.
The second postdoc will work on a NYDEC-funded project aimed at uncovering genome-wide patterns of variation in American shad across its distribution range and developing cost-effective genomic screening tools to aid conservation efforts and fisheries management. The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is an anadromous fish native to the east coast of North America. It has for centuries been one of the region’s most important fisheries species – so much that it in the US has been called "the fish that fed the nation's founders". More recently, however, the species has faced population extirpations across its range and despite extensive restoration efforts, abundances are at historic lows in many areas. Conservation planning efforts would substantially benefit from a better understanding of the population structure and degree of local adaptation in American shad and an ability to assign ocean-going adults back to their river of origin.
Earlier microsatellite work detected only weak genetic differentiation across the species range, but shad are distributed across very heterogeneous environments and divergent selection may have driven highly elevated levels of differentiation in localized genomic regions associated with local adaptation, a pattern now seen in many other fish species. The goal of this project is to conduct genome-wide scans to identify genomic regions that show maximal differences in allele frequencies across both small and large spatial scales, and based on these develop powerful genetic assignment tools for inferring where shad caught as bycatch in ocean fisheries originate from. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and being based on linked-read whole genome sequencing of >500 individuals (haplotagging), it will provide an exciting opportunity to leverage novel haplotype-resolved genomic techniques to address practical management needs in a high-profile species while at the same time exploring more basic questions about the forces that drive genome-wide patterns of variation in high gene flow systems. Exhibiting a remarkable variation in reproductive strategy and other phenotypic traits across its range, and recently having successfully colonized the entire west coast of North America after being introduced to California in the late 1800s, the American shad has tremendous, but yet unexplored, promise as a model to study how species adapt to new conditions - an issue of urgent importance in our rapidly changing world. The postdoc will be encouraged to pursue and integrate both the applied and more fundamental lines of inquiry based on their interests.
Qualifications: Candidates should have completed or be within 1-3 months of completing a PhD in evolutionary genomics, molecular ecology, bioinformatics or a related field. We are looking for creative and talented scientists who are team players with good publication records and excellent organizational and communication skills. The successful candidates must have a strong computational/bioinformatics background and previous experience with analyzing large population genomics data sets. Experience working in the Unix environment is essential and familiarity with one or several programming languages is highly desirable. Molecular lab experience and past experience with conservation/fisheries applications is also a plus.
To apply, please send your CV, a description of your research interests and motivation related to one or both of the projects, and contact information for three references to Nina Overgaard Therkildsen (nt246@cornell.edu). You only need to submit a single application to be considered for both positions. We are committed to increasing diversity in STEM and especially encourage applications from underrepresented groups. Review of applications will begin on July 2, 2020 and continue until the position is filled. The preferred start date is late summer/early fall 2020, but we are flexible and the postdocs can potentially start out working remotely and relocate to Ithaca, NY (USA) later when conditions permit. The positions are initially for one year, with possibility of renewal, depending on performance. Feel free to get in touch with any questions.
The positions will be based in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. Our lab is part of the larger campus-wide Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics (http://3cpg.cornell.edu) whose mission includes fostering research, education, and outreach in comparative and population genetics, and which brings together a vibrant and interactive group of over 350 faculty, postdocs, graduate students and staff who share a commitment to comparative and evolutionary genomic approach to the study of living systems.
The second postdoc will work on a NYDEC-funded project aimed at uncovering genome-wide patterns of variation in American shad across its distribution range and developing cost-effective genomic screening tools to aid conservation efforts and fisheries management. The American shad (Alosa sapidissima) is an anadromous fish native to the east coast of North America. It has for centuries been one of the region’s most important fisheries species – so much that it in the US has been called "the fish that fed the nation's founders". More recently, however, the species has faced population extirpations across its range and despite extensive restoration efforts, abundances are at historic lows in many areas. Conservation planning efforts would substantially benefit from a better understanding of the population structure and degree of local adaptation in American shad and an ability to assign ocean-going adults back to their river of origin.
Earlier microsatellite work detected only weak genetic differentiation across the species range, but shad are distributed across very heterogeneous environments and divergent selection may have driven highly elevated levels of differentiation in localized genomic regions associated with local adaptation, a pattern now seen in many other fish species. The goal of this project is to conduct genome-wide scans to identify genomic regions that show maximal differences in allele frequencies across both small and large spatial scales, and based on these develop powerful genetic assignment tools for inferring where shad caught as bycatch in ocean fisheries originate from. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and being based on linked-read whole genome sequencing of >500 individuals (haplotagging), it will provide an exciting opportunity to leverage novel haplotype-resolved genomic techniques to address practical management needs in a high-profile species while at the same time exploring more basic questions about the forces that drive genome-wide patterns of variation in high gene flow systems. Exhibiting a remarkable variation in reproductive strategy and other phenotypic traits across its range, and recently having successfully colonized the entire west coast of North America after being introduced to California in the late 1800s, the American shad has tremendous, but yet unexplored, promise as a model to study how species adapt to new conditions - an issue of urgent importance in our rapidly changing world. The postdoc will be encouraged to pursue and integrate both the applied and more fundamental lines of inquiry based on their interests.
Qualifications: Candidates should have completed or be within 1-3 months of completing a PhD in evolutionary genomics, molecular ecology, bioinformatics or a related field. We are looking for creative and talented scientists who are team players with good publication records and excellent organizational and communication skills. The successful candidates must have a strong computational/bioinformatics background and previous experience with analyzing large population genomics data sets. Experience working in the Unix environment is essential and familiarity with one or several programming languages is highly desirable. Molecular lab experience and past experience with conservation/fisheries applications is also a plus.
To apply, please send your CV, a description of your research interests and motivation related to one or both of the projects, and contact information for three references to Nina Overgaard Therkildsen (nt246@cornell.edu). You only need to submit a single application to be considered for both positions. We are committed to increasing diversity in STEM and especially encourage applications from underrepresented groups. Review of applications will begin on July 2, 2020 and continue until the position is filled. The preferred start date is late summer/early fall 2020, but we are flexible and the postdocs can potentially start out working remotely and relocate to Ithaca, NY (USA) later when conditions permit. The positions are initially for one year, with possibility of renewal, depending on performance. Feel free to get in touch with any questions.
The positions will be based in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University. Our lab is part of the larger campus-wide Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics (http://3cpg.cornell.edu) whose mission includes fostering research, education, and outreach in comparative and population genetics, and which brings together a vibrant and interactive group of over 350 faculty, postdocs, graduate students and staff who share a commitment to comparative and evolutionary genomic approach to the study of living systems.
