Postdoc in bioinformatics of oil spill microbiology at the Department of Biology, Aarhus University

The Arctic Research Centre invites applications for a 1-year postdoc position offering applicants an exciting opportunity to join our research project on Arctic microbial oil degradation in Greenland’s marine environment.

The position is for 1 year and is available from 1st of September 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description/research project/research area
You will contribute to a project on oil spill biodegradation in Greenland. Earlier during this project, we have acquired a unique dataset of chemical and microbial DNA sequence data from in situ oil spill biodegradation experiments in Greenlandic seawater and sediments.

You are expected to investigate relationships between the composition of oil degrading microbial communities (measured 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and qPCR quantification), environmental parameters and the chemical composition of the oil over time (measured by GC-MS).

This includes:

• Advanced bioinformatic analysis of genomic data
• Advanced cheminformatic analysis of GC-MS data
• Define additional metagenomic analysis of selected samples and perform metagenomic data analysis. Metagenomic analysis will be conducted by, and in collaboration with, the group of Prof. Charles Greer (National Research Council, Canada).
• Investigate relationships between microbial, chemical and environmental data
• Publish results in scientific journals

Your profile
Our ideal candidate holds a PhD in relevant domain (e.g. microbiology) or similar and has a strong experience with bioinformatic analysis of complex and large datasets.
Candidates holding a MSc degree with a very strong experience in bioinformatics are also welcome to apply. The position can be converted into a research assistant position.

The following experiences are considered as an advantage:

• Background knowledge about modern molecular techniques (amplicon sequencing, metagenomics)
• Background knowledge on chemical analysis (GC-MS or similar)
• Background knowledge about microbiology and microbial ecology, in particular related to oil biodegradation
• Publishing in peer-reviewed journals
• Developing and writing project proposals

Where experience is lacking, the candidate must be motivated to learn and will get the opportunity to develop new skills.

The applicant should be interested to co-supervise students.
Excellence in both written and spoken English is a requirement.

Who we are
The Arctic is borderless, and so is the Arctic Research Centre (ARC). The centre recognizes the need to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to adequately address contemporary and critical Arctic issues. Therefore, a large number of researchers from a wide variety of disciplines have joined forces to investigate effects of climate changes and related consequences such as increased risk for oil spills on the Arctic cryosphere, ecosystems and societies. Joint field campaigns constitute a focal point in the work of ARC and are an effective means to unite and integrate the different academic fields involved, sparking interdisciplinary collaboration and synergy.
The candidate will also be affiliated with the Section for Microbiology at the Department of Biology. Research at the section integrates microbiological, molecular biological and biogeochemical methods to study the microbial ecology of natural and man-made environments.

The successful candidate is offered:
The successful candidate will be employed by the Department of Biology at Aarhus University (http://bio.au.dk/en) and be a part of the Arctic Research Centre (http://arctic.au.dk/) at the Department of Biology.
We guarantee access to well-developed research infrastructure.
We work together with the Section for Microbiology (https://bio.au.dk/en/about-biology/sections/microbiology) at the Department of Biology, with the Section for Environmental Chemistry and Physics at Copenhagen University (https://plen.ku.dk/english/research/env_chem_phys/ac/) and with the National Research Council, Canada.

The place of work is Ole Worms Allé 1, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with related departments.

Further information about the position may be obtained from Leendert Vergeynst, +4550577938, email: leendert.vergeynst@bce.au.dk

Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference
If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range
Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University
Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/

Deadline: 01 May 2021