Job Postings of Interest to the Maize Community

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Assistant Professor

Location:Vancouver, BC, Canada

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: Plant cell/molecular biology

Responsibilities:

The Department of Botany at the University of British Columbia invites applications for a tenure track Assistant Professor position starting July 1, 2011. We seek outstanding applicants who address fundamental research questions in plant, algal, or fungal biology using cellular, molecular, genetic, genomic and/or proteomic approaches in areas such as physiology, cell biology, biochemistry, signaling, epigenetics, and development. In addition to pursuing an internationally recognized research program, the successful candidate will be committed to excellence in the teaching of both undergraduate and graduate students. Applicants must have a PhD and preferably postdoctoral experience. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Responsibilities include establishing and conducting an internationally competitive, externally funded, research program, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, supervising graduate students and performing service duties for the department, university, and academic/scientific community.

Other requirements include:

Applicants should submit a single pdf file including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, research and teaching interests, and up to four publications to http://www.hr.ubc.ca/careers/faculty_postings.html. Evidence of teaching effectiveness would be an asset. In addition, three confidential reference letters should be sent as pdfs to jobs.botany@ubc.ca. Screening of applications will begin November 1, 2010.

For information about the Department of Botany please visit www.botany.ubc.ca.

UBC hires on the basis of merit and is committed to employment equity. All qualified persons are encouraged to apply. UBC is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

Contact Aven Bendickson at jobs.botany@ubc.ca for more information.

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Location:Ithaca, NY, USA

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology or related fields

Responsibilities:

A postdoctoral research associate position is available October 1, 2010 to join Dr. Owen Hoekenga’s research group on the Cornell University campus examining two aspects of maize grain quality. First, we used quantitative genetics together with a novel phenotyping tool to enhance the bioavailable fraction of iron found in maize grain. New inbred lines have been developed that will facilitate the characterization of the genes and gene products responsible for biofortifying maize grain with iron. Second, we are interested in unintended effects to food quality and composition in transgenic crops. We have recently completed a series of experiments that characterized transgenic and diverse conventional tomato cultivars using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. We now wish to apply the same approaches to examine the boundaries of stakeholder acceptable metabolomic diversity in maize. These research projects are collaborative efforts between our laboratory an! d several others on the Cornell University Campus. Additional information on the research group and overall project are available from http://www.ars.usda.gov/pandp/people/people.htm?personid=39973.

Other requirements include:

Ph.D. with demonstrated expertise in biochemistry, molecular biology, or related fields. Candidates must be highly motivated and have excellent inter-personal and communication skills. This position requires expertise in liquid chromatography, mass spectroscopy and statistics. Previous experience in quantitative genetics, physiology or field-based research is desirable, but not essential. The superior candidate needs to possess creativity and initiative. To Apply: Send a PDF or MS Word file containing: 1) a cover letter that summarizes accomplishments in LC-MS and statistics, research interests and professional goals; 2) a current curriculum vitae; and, 3) contact details for three references to Owen.Hoekenga@ars.usda.gov .

Applications will be reviewed upon receipt and the position will remain open until filled. The Boyce Thompson Institute is a non-profit research institute affiliated with and located on the central Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York.

Contact Owen Hoekenga at Owen.Hoekenga@ars.usda.gov for more information.

Senior Research Scientist in Bioinformatics

Location:Freising, Germany

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: Bioinformatics, informatics or related fields

Responsibilities:

The Plant Breeding group at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen offers a position for a Bioinformatician (German gov. salary TV-L 13) for 6 years (2 x 3).

Research in the plant breeding group is focused on the development of molecular tools for plant breeding applications. The candidate will work in an interdisciplinary team of plant and animal breeders, bioinformaticians and biologists.

The major role of the Senior Research Scientist will be the

• Development and adaptation of relational databases for next-generation-sequencing data
• Development of bioinformatics tools using script languages like (Bio-)Perl, (Bio-)Python and (Bio-)Java for handling and visualizing large data sets
• Development and maintenance of molecular biological databases, data integration, installation of bioinformatics tools for in silico analysis tasks (sequence assembly, gene annotation and comparative genomics)
• Interdisciplinary collaboration with group members
• Participation in teaching

• PhD in bioinformatics, informatics or related fields
• Knowledge of algorithms and experience with standard programs for sequence assembly (e.g. Mira, Velvet), sequence analysis (e.g. RepeatMasker, BLAST), SNP detection (e.g. AutoSNP, QualitySNP), and (comparative) genome and transcriptome analysis
• Strong background in genetics, genomics and molecular biology
• Ability to independently solve problems
• Strong team player skills

Wheat Breeding Program Leader at Oregon State University

Location:Corvallis, OR USA

Degree Required: Doctorate

Level: Assistant, Associate or full professor

Description:

The Department of Crop & Soil Science at Oregon State University seeks a scientist with strong traditional and molecular plant breeding knowledge and experience to lead a dynamic wheat variety and germplasm development team.

This is a 12-month, 1.0 FTE tenure-track position available at the assistant, associate or full professor level, tenure possible with the latter, depending on candidate experience. For a position description and application procedures, see http://oregonstate.edu/jobs (posting number 0005761). For more information on the position, see the posting at http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu.

Contact Jayne Smith at Jayne.Smith@oregonstate.edu for more information.

Breeding Services Manager (Integrated Breeding Platform)

Location:Texcoco, Mexico

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: plant breeding, plant genetics or similar area

Responsibilities:

The Generation Challenge Programme (GCP) is seeking a Services Manager who will manage the marker services and trait and metabolite services provided by the GCP as part of the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP). The marker services of the IBP currently consists of a combination of low-throughput SSR genotyping laboratories and high-throughput SNP genotyping services contracted to service the needs of molecular breeders and other scientists associated with the IBP and other GCP-supported projects.

He/She will have the following responsibilities:

• Manage the client/user relationship with marker services. This involves identifying the users’ needs, recommending an optimum approach based on those needs, overseeing the administrative management of that relationship when necessary, and arranging for the genotyping work to be performed at competitive pricing while following the turnaround time needed by the users. It also involves providing guidance to relevant policies related to DNA and germplasm exchanges that may impact the users’ projects
• Drive the transition from SSR to SNP genotyping for most of the crops supported by the IBP. This involves identifying sources of publicly available SNPs for each of those crops and developing a strategy for the deployment of those SNPs in the IBP marker services.
• Continue to assess the capacity and availability of new potential services providers in the genotyping field, especially regarding access to the low-cost, high-throughput, semi-automated SNP genotyping that will be necessary to support the increasing genotyping workload of molecular breeding. Keep abreast of the latest developments in genotyping to ensure that the marker services remain competitive and relevant to evolving user needs.
• Assess the capacity and availability of potential trait and metabolite services providers that could provide, as needed, specialized phenotyping services for specific traits that are beyond the usual capacity of traditional IBP users.
• Contribute to training and capacity building activities of the platform in particular by coordinating small projects aiming at promoting the use and exposing users from developing countries to marker technologies and promoting their use.

The Services Manager will report administratively to the Platform Manager but will also work closely with the Integrated Breeding Lead for strategic issues. He/She will interact closely with the users of the IBP (primarily molecular breeders and traditional breeders integrating markers into their breeding programs) and with services providers to ensure that the users’ needs are met and to assess future needs. This international position, based at GCP headquarters in Mexico, is for a fixed-term contract of three years, with possibility for renewal subject to performance and funding.

1. A Ph.D. degree in plant breeding, plant genetics or similar area with at least 3 years of appropriate experience for the position, or a Masters Degree with at least 8 years of suitable experience.
2. Thorough understanding of molecular breeders and breeders needs in terms of marker technologies (especially SNP genotyping and use in breeding)
3. Good understanding of plant physiology and the power of integrating secondary traits in modern plant breeding
4. Experience in project management
5. Affinity for international agricultural research and development
6. Ability to work well as part of a multidisciplinary and decentralized team
7. Excellent interpersonal skills and proactive in identifying and preventing potential problems
8. Excellent communications skills in written and spoken English

Experience in the following areas would also be considered a major asset:


9. Practical experience in the extensive use of markers in a commercial breeding program
10. Strong expertise in the use of genomics tools for SNP development and for next-generation applications such as genome-wide selection

Maize geneticist, bioinformatics specialist and molecular breeder

Location:Beijing, China

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: Plant biology, genetics breeding, plant physiology, biotechnology, plant genomics, bioinformatics

Responsibilities:

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing will establish a CIMMYT-CAAS Joint International Research Center (JIRC) in the Institute of Crop Sciences, CAAS. JIRC has now three full-time positions open in the fields of maize genetics, bioinformatics and molecular breeding at the level of associate or full research professor including one second-level outstanding scientist. The successful candidates will work as a team with focus on abiotic stresses including drought and low nitrogen and phosphorus. A full package will be provided for the successful candidates with salary and benefit comparable to the full-time CAAS staff on the research track.

General requirements: Ph.D. with a minimum of 2-3 years of postdoctoral experience for hiring at associate professor level, and 7+ years of research experience for hiring at full professor level. Application for the full professor will require significant publications in international journals. Successful candidates should have ability to plan, manage and coordinate research activities and to supervise and lead other team members, and ability to work well as part of multidisciplinary teams. Other qualifications include fund raising ability and proficiency in spoken and written English. The preference will be given to the applicants who were educated or trained in developed countries or advanced institutions for a minimum of two years and who have maize research experience. Chinese citizenship is required.

The following shall be specific responsibilities and qualifications for the three positions:

Maize Molecular Geneticist

Responsibilities: Develop high-throughput discovery and validation approaches for biotic/abiotic stress tolerance and yield enhancement of maize; lead the research activities for gene discovery, characterization and development using state-of-the-art technologies and multidisciplinary approaches. Requirements: Ph.D. in plant biology, genetics, breeding, plant physiology, biotechnology, or related fields; experience in developing and implementing a high throughput gene discovery and validation pipeline in crop or model species, preferably maize. Experience in fine mapping, gene cloning and functional analysis in crop plants and proficiency in application of relevant software.

Maize Bioinformatics Specialist

Responsibilities: Design and implement bioinformatics analysis work flows through developed or adopted analysis software, high performance computing and networking tools; perform whole genome sequence- or candidate gene-based genetic diversity analysis, genetic mapping and allele mining; Lead the comparative integration and value added bioinformatics analysis of consolidated data sets, and generating biological information for use by the maize scientific community; Document all related research activities in sufficient detail to guide scientific research using comparable data sets.

Requirements: Ph.D. degree in plant genomics, bioinformatics or related fields; strong background in bioinformatics and plant genetics |(preferably maize); experience with biometrical genetics and statistics. Preference will be given to those with experience in the following areas: statistical analysis using R/SAS, software development in Java, relational database design and administration, knowledge of abiotic stress tolerance, and familiarity with molecular marker-assisted breeding programs.

Maize Molecular Breeder

Responsibilities: Deploy molecular technologies to facilitate marker assisted breeding with special emphasis on the areas of experimental design, data analysis (including phenotypic and molecular), marker assisted selection and prediction strategies, allele and gene mining; Identify and utilize germplasm diversity in breeding programs using molecular tools; Develop strategies to identify the underlying genetic factors responsible for traits important to maize breeding; Develop markers and tools for molecular breeding.

Requirements: Ph.D. degree in plant genetics, molecular biology and/or plant breeding (preferably maize); familiarity with large-scale germplasm collections and field breeding programs; strong background in quantitative and/or population genetics; ability to optimize high throughput low cost marker-assisted selection pipelines; skills and knowledge of SSR, SNP and gene-based marker development, validation and application; knowledge of abiotic/biotic stresses and component trait analysis of other complex agronomic traits.

Postdoctoral Position

Location:Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA

Degree Required: Doctorate

Area of Study: Molecular Biology

Announcement:

POSTDOCTORAL POSITION IN POLLEN-PISTIL INTERACTIONS AND CROSS-INCOMPATIBILITY IN MAIZE AND TEOSINTE

A NSF-funded postdoctoral position is available for two years starting April 2010 at the Carnegie Institution for Science located on the campus of Stanford University to study cross-incompatibility between maize and teosinte and to clone the Teosinte crossing barrier1 gene. We are looking for a highly motivated individual with a PhD in molecular biology, genetics, or related disciplines and a demonstrated ability to carry out outstanding research. A strong background in genetics and molecular biology is desired. Experience in maize genetics is advantageous but not required. Excellent communication skills and an ability and willingness to collaborate are essential. The successful applicant is also expected to interact with undergraduates participating in summer research projects.

Interested individuals should send an application package through e-mail (a cover letter detailing experience; CV; publication reprints; and names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of three references) to Matt Evans, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology, 260 Panama St., Stanford, CA 94305 USA; phone: 650-325-1521 x.283; fax: 650-325-6857; email: mmsevans@stanford.edu

The Carnegie Institution is an equal opportunity employer.

Contact Matt Evans at mmsevans@stanford.edu for more information.

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Last updated 8:48 am, Aug 13, 2010.