Postdoctoral Research Associate

Full time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term: 16 months

We are looking for a postdoctoral research associate to work in evolutionary genetics of recombination rate variation in wild populations.

The Opportunity:

A postdoctoral research position is available in the lab of Dr Susan Johnston (Institute of Ecology & Evolution) on evolutionary genomics of recombination rate variation in wild birds and mammals. We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated postdoc to work with genomic data to characterise variation in population- and individual-level recombination landscapes wild long-term wild studies.

The project is part of a Royal Society-funded project on genetic basis and evolution of recombination variation. Meiotic recombination (i.e. chromosomal “crossovers”) is beneficial as it promotes proper chromosome segregation and creates new combinations of alleles upon which selection can act. However, it has the cost of increasing mutations and can break up previously beneficial allele combinations. Despite these trade-offs, relatively little is known about how and why the rate of recombination varies, particularly between the sexes (known as heterochiasmy) or between individuals, populations and species. Our group aims to better understand the causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in wild and domesticated populations.

This project will use genomic data in long-term pedigreed mammal and bird studies to investigate the causes, consequences, and correlates on variation in recombination landscapes, with a specific focus on sex differences. The PDRA will take advantage of an established analytical pipelines for estimating crossover positions within pedigrees and will investigate cross-sex variation in recombination landscapes. In addition, the PDRA will use whole-genome sequence data from unrelated individuals to investigate fine-scale recombination landscapes at the population level. The project includes funds for genotyping/sequencing, training, computing and attending international conferences. There is scope to tailor the project to the skills and interests of the PDRA, and to develop independent lines of research.

Applicants should have a strong background in genetics and a PhD in a relevant subject area (population and/or quantitative genetics, evolutionary biology, and/or working with recombination data). Experience working with genomic data and bioinformatics skills are essential, as is a strong track record of independent and creative thinking.

Informal enquiries are welcome to Susan.Johnston@ed.ac.uk

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Experience in coding/bioinformatics (R, Python, Bash or other).
• A strong background in population, quantitative and/or evolutionary genetics and genomics.
• Ability to work well with others and co-ordinate data collection from collaborators.
• Excellent organisational and reproducible research skills.
• The ability to work independently and take initiative.

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