Antibiotic resistance is one of the most severe threats to human health globally. The Bengtsson-Palme lab is using data driven approaches to find solutions and interventions to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance. We are looking for a driven candidate with a strong background in genomics and bioinformatics to join us for a four-year PhD project.
Information about the division and the department
Rapidly increasing antibiotic resistance necessitates innovative solutions to halt its spread. At the same time, the emergence of novel pathogenic agents, such as SARS-CoV-2 and Candida auris, highlights the importance of the environment in understanding and potentially preventing future the disease threats of the future. The work on antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity in the Bengtsson-Palme lab is focused on: 1) understanding and limiting spread of antibiotic resistance through the environment, 2) identifying genes involved in antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity, and 3) building a framework to allow implementation of monitoring for antibiotic resistance and emergent pathogens. This PhD project will be involved in all of these tasks, and the distribution between them can be somewhat influenced by the interest of the recruited student. The PhD project revolves around using large-scale data-driven approaches (including machine learning, genomics and metagenomic sequence analysis) to identify risk environments and define potential novel antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity genes.
While working in the group, the student will interact with other lab members with expertise in microbiology, bioinformatics and large-scale data analysis. Close collaborations exist with partners in Gothenburg and nationally, as well as with international partners, for example in the EMBARK program. The PhD student will join a productive interdisciplinary research environment at Chalmers SysBio. The project is funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. For more information about the Bengtsson-Palme lab and SysBio, please visit these websites: https://microbiology.se and https://www.sysbio.se/
Major responsibilities
As a PhD student, your major responsibility will be to pursue your own doctoral studies. You will be expected to analyze and interpret large-scale data from public sources, as well as ongoing and future experiments and sampling campaigns performed by the group and our collaborators. Furthermore, you will perform tasks related to charting pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance in the environment at a global scale. You will increasingly be responsible for experimental planning, sample collection, data handling, writing of publications and communications of results from the project. The position will involve some degree of field work, so the candidate must be willing to travel on relatively short notice.
Qualifications
Mandatory qualifications and skills:
– A master’s level degree in a relevant subject, such as genomics, systems biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, biomedicine, or similar.
– Documented experience of bioinformatic, computational biology and genomics work.
– An ability to work independently as well as in teams and take responsibility for progress of the project.
– Fluency in spoken and written English.
– Good scientific writing skills
Meriting qualifications and skills:
– Previous work with functional annotation of genome or metagenome data
– Experience with comparative genomics
– Experience with environmental DNA
– Knowledge of biological databases
– Experience of working with data analysis in R and programming (for example in a scripting language such as Perl or Python)
– Previous experience with wetlab work, such as bacterial culturing, DNA extraction etc.
– Knowledge of antibiotic resistance development, pathogenicity and microbial ecology
– Specific knowledge on Pseudomonas aeruginosa genomics
Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.
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Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20230482 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.
CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.
Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus
Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.
Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form.
Application deadline: 2023-09-21
For questions, please contact:
Assistant professor Johan Bengtsson-Palme, Systems and Synthetic Biology,
johan.bengtsson.palme@chalmers.se, phone: 0733661598
*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***
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