Introduction
UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.
Presentation
The Department of Fundamental Microbiology offers a research associate position in bioinformatics support.
Job information
Expected start date : between 01.07.2025 and 01.10.2025 (flexible)
Contract length : 1 year (renewable for up to 4 years)
Activity rate : 100%
Workplace : University of Lausanne
Your responsibilities
We are looking for a motivated bioinformatician to support the research groups in the Department of Fundamental Microbiology, and in particular, in association with the National Centre of Competence in Research Microbiomes. Combining computational, modeling, engineering and synthetic approaches, the NCCR Microbiomes aims to understand the unifying principles of microbiome functioning, to develop tools to diagnose microbiome status, and to devise strategies to intervene and restore imbalanced microbiomes. The selected individual will (i) establish and implement bioinformatics workflows to analyze microbiome sequencing datasets and provide open data accessibility, (ii) support and guide bioinformatics analysis and data management of NCCR-related projects across research groups, (iii) collaborate with other NCCR Microbiomes groups in development of microbiome data analysis, (iv) carry out their own research in the context of microbiome research.
The selected individual will be integrated in the research group of Prof. Philipp Engel, but will further work in close collaboration with the NCCR data management staff and other NCCR bioinformaticians (e.g. at the ETHZ). We offer a stimulating and international research environment with access to state of the art computational facilities.
About 35% of the work time will be dedicated to providing bioinformatics support for NCCR Microbiomes projects. 10% will be dedicated to teaching NCCR Microbiomes-related Master student courses. The remaining of the working time may be dedicated to personal research within the group of Prof. Engel.
Your qualifications
Candidates should hold a PhD in life sciences with a focus on bioinformatics in the fields of microbial ecology and evolution/microbiome research. A strong background in experimental design, statistics, shotgun metagenomics and microbial genome analyses is mandatory, so is a strong expertise in running and setting up bioinformatics pipeline in HPC environments. Research experience with several different microbiomes (e.g. soil, plant, human, or animal microbiomes) is an asset. Proven experience of UNIX, Python, and R scripting is mandatory.
A good command of the English language, a high personal motivation to collaborate and support research projects, and strong communications skills are expected.
What the position offers you
We offer a nice working place in a multicultural, diverse and dynamic academic environment. Opportunities for professional training, a lot of activities and other benefits to discover.
Our vision is to carry out research at the forefront of our field, while creating a friendly and inclusive environment, in which young scientists from different backgrounds can strive and feel empowered. We offer plenty of opportunities for professional training, teaching, networking, outreach, and publishing.
Contact for further information
Prof. Philip Engel and Jan Roelof van der Meer
Phone number : 0041 21 692 5612 and 0041 21 692 5630
Your application
Application deadline: April 1st 2025, but applications will be evaluated as they are received.
Please include your full application (motivation letter, CV, list of publications and other artefacts (e.g., GitHub or open data pages), and the contact details of two referees in Word or PDF format).
Only applications through this website will be taken into account. We thank you for your understanding.
Additional information
UNIL is committed to:
• equality, diversity and inclusion within its community;
• ensuring an open and respectful environment that is conducive to personal development;
• offering working conditions that facilitate work-life balance.
Job description
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