Postdoctoral Associate

MSU Jobs • Miami, FL

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Northern Gulf Institute at Mississippi State University is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate to lead the development and application of molecular assays to support fisheries and biodiversity monitoring. Based at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida, the successful candidate will be at the forefront of developing innovative environmental DNA (eDNA) laboratory methods to enhance fisheries stock assessments. Working in a highly collaborative environment, this role will leverage bioinformatics and laboratory expertise to develop novel quantitative metabarcoding approaches and qPCR assays to improve regional fisheries surveys. This position offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with scientists at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to operationalize eDNA tools for fisheries management.

Requirements

• A Ph.D. in molecular biology, computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics, marine science, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience in molecular biology, specifically with DNA metabarcoding and PCR protocol development.
• Bioinformatics experience, including proficiency with the Unix command line, management of large sequencing datasets, and development/use of computational workflows.
• Strong programming and data science skills in languages such as Python and/or R.
• A record of scholarly achievement, evidenced by at least one first-author peer-reviewed publication.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative research environment.

Nice To Haves

• Significant molecular biology experience including developing qPCR protocols and DNA metabarcoding
• Demonstrated experience analyzing large-scale metabarcoding and/or metagenomic datasets using common bioinformatics tools (e.g., DADA2, QIIME) on high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
• A strong publication record, including first-author publications in relevant fields.
• Demonstrated commitment to open-source code and FAIR data management principles.
• Ability to work effectively within a team of federal scientists and academic contractors.
• Attention to detail regarding laboratory QA/QC and the maintenance of comprehensive electronic and physical records.

Responsibilities

• Develop and validate quantitative metabarcoding workflows utilizing droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), Unique Molecular Identifiers (UMIs) tagging, and synthetic DNA standards.
• Develop and validate an optimized eDNA metabarcoding primer set designed to resolve taxonomic ambiguities in regional managed fish taxa families.
• Leverage bioinformatics software and scripts for primer development and processing of metabarcoding and ddPCR data.
• Oversee, collaborate with, and mentor laboratory technicians and interns associated with the project.
• Disseminate project findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific conferences.
• Collaborate closely with collaborators at AOML, NGI, SEFSC, and FWC.

Benefits

• Salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree