"Postdoctoral Research Associate I - Microbial Ecology & Multi-Omics (UPDATED)"

Position Highlights

The Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Microbial Ecologist with expertise in tracking microbial metabolism and activity across diverse complex environments using multi-omics approaches. The successful candidate will contribute to cutting-edge research investigating microbial communities in various systems, including but not limited to soil, plant-associated environments, and animal tissues (such as bacterial infections in pig tissue). This role requires a deep understanding of microbial metabolism in complex biological systems, proficiency in integrating and analyzing multi-omics data.

This is a year-to-year appointment, contingent upon funding and performance.

Outstanding UA benefits include health, dental, vision, and life insurance; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; UA/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; access to UA recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Duties & Responsibilities

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Design, conduct, analyze, and interpret laboratory and field-based research related to microbial metabolism in complex environments.
• Perform research utilizing a full range of state-of-the-art equipment and facilities for microbial metabolism studies, including but not limited to: Metabolite, DNA and RNA extraction, Data processing, Integration of metabolomics data with other multi-omics and genomics data.
• Operate in a professional environment with excellent technical support to maximize research outputs and efficiency.
• Lead and contribute to the development of scientific manuscripts describing the results of research team studies.
• Prepare and deliver presentations on research findings at scientific conferences and meetings.
• Collaborate with team members to integrate multi-omics data for comprehensive analysis of microbial functions and interactions in complex systems.
• Contribute to the development of new experimental protocols and analytical methods as needed to advance the lab's research goals.
• Maintain accurate and detailed records of experiments and results, ensuring reproducibility and data integrity.
• Stay current with the latest developments in microbial ecology, metabolism, and multi-omics technologies through literature review and professional development activities.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to conduct interdisciplinary, integrative, and creative research in microbial ecology, as evidenced by successful contributions to large team projects and individually led scientific publications.
• Strong collaborative skills and the ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary environments.
• Proficiency in using a broad suite of software and tools for microbial and multi-omics dataset analysis.
• Advanced programming and scripting skills in one or more of the following: R, Python, or other relevant computational languages.
• Ability to develop and apply customized computational approaches for complex data analysis.
• Excellent data integration skills, particularly in combining multi-omics datasets.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to address complex biological questions.
• Effective communication skills to present complex scientific findings to diverse audiences.
• Adaptability and willingness to learn new techniques and approaches as the field evolves.
• Familiarity with current trends and advancements in microbial ecology and metabolism research.
• Proficiency in field and laboratory methods for characterizing soil biogeochemical cycling processes.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. degree in microbiology, ecology, biochemistry, molecular biology, or a closely related field.
• Experience with modern molecular ecology methods, including metabolomics, metagenome analyses, quantitative PCR, and rRNA community sequence analyses.
• Proven experience in applying informatics approaches to metabolite studies, amplicon microbiome analyses, and shotgun metagenomic studies.
• Strong track record of primary contributions to peer-reviewed publications, demonstrating excellent research and writing skills.
• Experience in integrating and interpreting multi-omics data sets to derive biological insights.