INVITATION TO JOIN A RESEARCH PROJECT
We are looking for a highly motivated graduate student, who is interested in pursuing a PhD degree in the field of Archaeogenetics, Biology, Animal Science, Bioinformatics or related fields to join the team of a research project entitled “ARCHAIC – The archaeogenetics of Iberian cattle: investigating their origins, evolution and improvement” (PTDC/CVTLIV/2827/2014; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016647).
The student will be engaged to ARCHAIC, an innovative project merging zooarchaeology and genetics – which is critical to capture the temporal and geographical dimensions of the history that shaped the genetic composition of cattle.
This cross-disciplinary project represents a great opportunity to get intensive training in the methods of ancient and modern DNA analyses, including DNA isolation from a variety of sources, preparation of genomic libraries, next-generation sequencing, quality control of DNA templates while completing a graduate degree. There will be a strong bioinformatics component to process and validate NGS data using appropriate pipelines for ancient DNA sequence data, to estimate genetic diversity and investigate demographic processes.
The invited student will interact with an international team of scientists at CIBIO/InBIO-University of Porto in the Campus of Vairão, Portugal, at LARC-National Laboratory of Archaeosciences in Lisbon, Portugal, and at foreign participating institutions namely the Archaeological Research Laboratory of Stockholm University.
Required qualifications
Research funds are available through the ARCHAIC project, but to try to obtain monthly stipends the invited graduate student is expected to apply to the next call for Ph.D. Fellowships of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia – FCT, Portugal, open from 1 to 31 March 2017 (5pm, Lisbon time) and should comply with the necessary requirements. For details please check the call website:http://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/concursos/individuais2017.phtml.en
An advanced master degree in Genetics, Biology, Animal Science, Bioinformatics or any related field is required.
Candidates should demonstrate motivation for laboratory work and strong interest in molecular genetics and evolution.
Preference will be given to students with experience in molecular biology, namely in preparing libraries for next-generation sequencing and/or analysis of degraded samples.
Bioinformatics skills in 'Big-data' analytical approaches and in population genetics will be valued, as well as knowledge of programming languages like Unix and Python/Perl and of statistical analysis in R.
Good writing and communication competencies in English, along with excellent team working skills are highly desirable.
We are looking for a student who is able to work independently, to take own initiatives and to have a strong interest in producing high quality research and writing scientific publications.
Availability to carry out research work outside Portugal is also needed.
For more information about ARCHAIC, please check the project website:
http://archaic.campus.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/Archaic/home.html
To know more about our research group, please check:
https://cibio.up.pt/people/details/cginja
The application should include the following information:
1) a letter of intent describing yourself, your research interests and motivation of why you want to do a PhD
2) a CV summarizing your education, experience, other qualifying activity, and a list of publications
3) a copy of your master degree and course grades
4) the names and contact information (address, e-mail address, and phone number) of two referees
You are welcome to submit your application no later than March 3, 2017. The application must be written in English and sent by email to the address below:
ARCHAIC@cibio.up.pt
For further information, please contact:
Catarina Ginja, PhD
Research Associate, IF2014 Fellow
http://cibio.up.pt/people/details/cginja
CIBIO/InBIO – Laboratório Associado
Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos
Universidade do Porto
Campus Agrário de Vairão
Rua Padre Armando Quintas nº7
4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
E-mail: catarinaginja@cibio.up.pt
Tel.: +351 252 660 411