Postdoctoral fellow in computational ancient DNA analyses: Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenet...

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of Copenhagen

The University of Copenhagen invites applications for a computational postdoctoral research fellow position at the University of Copenhagen, in the research group of Thorfinn Korneliussen at the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre. The position is to be filled as soon as possible.

Objectives
At the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre we will be sequencing thousands of ancient genomes from a period spanning the last 50,000 years of human history, with the objective of elucidating human history, detecting and quantifying natural selection, and identifying environmental correlations of human genetic and demographic changes.

The Korneliussen group specializes in the development of new statistical methods for analyses of low coverage sequencing data and ancient DNA. The methods range from the estimation of population genetics parameters such as admixture, selection, relatedness, association etc., but also general tools for accessing and manipulating sequencing data.

You will be working on the large ancient genomic dataset resulting from these efforts, in combination with functional datasets and medical biobanks.

We expect you to develop and apply statistical methods to answer population genetic questions using ancient DNA or a combination of ancient and modern DNA. You will have freedom to design projects in consultation with your advisor, but are also expected to be part of a larger bioinformatic team for the overall Lundbeck project.

Research environment
You will work at the Lundbeck GeoGenetics Centre, a world-leading institution in ancient DNA studies. The position is for 3 years, and is fully funded. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with leaders in the fields of paleogenomics, population genetics and quantitative genetics, like Eske Willerslev, Rasmus Nielsen, Martin Sikora, Fernando Racimo and Morten Allentoft. The University of Copenhagen is ranked the 29th best university in the world according to Academic Ranking of World Universities 2018 (http://www.shanghhairanking.com/ARWU2018.html). It provides excellent academic programs in biology, statistics, computer science and mathematics. The GeoGenetics Centre is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark – a city that is ranked among the most liveable cities in the world (see e.g. https://placebrandobserver.com/monocle-quality-of-life-survey-25-most-liveable-cities-2018/ at 5:56).

Thorfinn Korneliussen's group is working in applied statistical and computational approaches for analysis of large scale genomic data, especially high throughput sequencing data. For more information, see www.popgen.dk and https://scholar.google.com.

Our local computational infrastructure is a high performance cluster with industry leading EMC scale out storage, but we also have access to multiple supercomputers.

Qualifications
You will have a PhD, or equivalent doctorate, with a strong background in one or more of the following areas: population genetics, human genetics, genomics, computational biology, bioinformatics, machine learning, physics, data science, mathematics and/or statistics. As an ideal candidate, you will have previous experience in developing statistical methods and a demonstrated working proficiency in programming and statistical computing (e.g. experience in Python, R, C/C++, Java) and have experience handling large data sets in the UNIX operating environment. Experience in machine learning is welcome, but not required.

The postdoctoral fellow’s duties will include methodological research within population genetics and human evolution, but may also include performance of other duties such as participation in meetings and in collaborative research projects.

Salary and terms of employment
The employment as postdoc is a full time and fixed-term position for 3 years. Starting date is as soon as possible. Terms of employment and payment are in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC).
The salary is based on seniority and monthly salary starts at approx. DKK 34,650 (approx. EUR 4,630) including a monthly Postdoc supplement + pension contribution of 17.1 % which will be paid by the University of Copenhagen to your pension fund. Negotiation for a salary supplement might be possible depending on qualifications.

Non-Danish and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions, if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the “Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at the Universities” of December 11, 2019.

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Questions
For further information about the department visit geogenetics.ku.dk. Inquiries about the position may be address to Assist. Prof. Thorfinn Korneliussen ([email protected]) or Prof. Rasmus Nielsen ([email protected]).

Application procedure
Your application (in English) must be submitted electronically by clicking ‘APPLY NOW’ below.

The application must include:

1. A cover letter (max. one page) describing your background, personal qualities, research interests and specific reasons for applying to this position.
2. Curriculum vitae.
3. Diplomas.
4. Contact details of two people for references.

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The deadline for applications is 15 April 2020, 23:59 p.m. CET.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

University of Copenhagen wish to reflect the diversity of society and welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender, nationality, race, religion or sexual orientation. Appointment will be based on merit alone.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk