We announce a 24-month (2 years) postdoctoral research assistant (PDRA) position at NORCE Climate & Environment in Bergen, Norway, which may be extended.

The position is in the field of bioinformatics, biostatistics and machine learning applied to marine microbial ecology questions. The associated research projects, on which NORCE is involved are funded by the Horizon Europe program, are cross-disciplinary and synergetic, BIOcean5D: “marine biodiversity assessment and prediction across spatial, temporal and human scales” and ANERIS “operAtional seNsing lifE technologies for maRIne ecosystemS”. The successful PDRA candidate is expected to contribute to both BIOcean5D and ANERIS by respectively i) identifying new DNA-based indicators of marine ecosystems health and ii) improving and extending the capabilities of an existing sequencing data processing pipeline (https://trtcrd.github.io/SLIM/).

We are therefore seeking a highly motivated candidate to strengthen our enthusiastic, cross-disciplinary research group in Molecular Ecology and Paleogenomics (MEP) that has expertise in developing and applying molecular tools to address research questions in environmental biomonitoring and (paleo)oceanography.

Projects background

Marine ecosystems are threatened by continuous expansion of urban areas and industrial activities. Innovative solutions could emerge from the development of molecular tools for the monitoring of biological communities to detect and measure the specificity and the magnitude of environmental impacts. Although multiple dimensions of the information delivered by DNA sequencing technologies show great promise, many others remain unexplored. Hence, the development of powerful bioinformatics tools and robust statistical analyses are required to comprehend and fully exploit patterns of biodiversity changes and ensure fast and reliable assessments for more informed and timely environmental management.

Your work tasks

Your task will be to analyse multiple large eukaryotic 18S metabarcoding datasets (hundreds to thousands of water and sediment samples) using advanced multivariate statistics and machine learning techniques, to identify robust new DNA-based indicators of marine ecosystems health. You will also be expected to develop and extend the capabilities of the SLIM metabarcoding pipeline to include long-reads, metagenomics and metatranscriptomics data processing modules. Specific work tasks include:

• Conduct bioinformatic and statistical analyses to integrate and mine multiple metabarcoding datasets, together with environmental metadata coming from in-situ measurements, climate models, and satellite-based land use estimates.
• Improve the SLIM processing pipeline, by consolidating existing code and by integrating new modules.
• Publish in relevant peer-reviewed journals, attend to projects meetings and international conferences.
• Assist the MEP team with bioinformatics and statistics.

Your education

A PhD degree in bioinformatics, biostatistics, molecular ecology, or relevant field is required. Applicants are expected to have:

• Excellent skills in at least one of the following: multivariate statistics, machine learning, ecological network inference coupled with strong skills in data visualization, using R or Python.
• Experience in high-throughput sequencing data analysis (metabarcoding and/or metatranscriptomics and/or metagenomics).
• Experience in the development of bioinformatics tools using version controls tools, such as git.
• Experience in the node.js framework or in the JavaScript language is a big plus, but not mandatory.
• Experience in microbial ecology is a plus but not mandatory.

We offer

• A unique opportunity to strengthen an enthusiastic research group working across disciplines in Bergen, Norway
• A stimulating and professionally challenging working environment
• Possibility to develop your own work, worktime and choice of solutions
• Salary in accordance with the Civil Service pay grade table scale for PDRA
• Excellent welfare benefits

Your application must include

• A brief account of your research interests and specific motivation for applying (max. 1 page)
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications.
• Names and contact details of at least two references persons.

For additional information about the position, you can contact Tristan Cordier (trco@norceresearch.no) or HR advisor Julia Dale (jdal@norceresearch.no)

Applications are to be done here