About us:

The Palaeogenomics group, led by Prof. Laurent Frantz, is part of the Institute of Palaeoanatomy, Domestication and the History of Veterinary Medicine, within the Department of Veterinary Medicine. Our group is broadly interested in evolutionary genomics, archaeology, conservation biology and sustainable agriculture. We exploit the power of ancient and modern genomics to contrast current patterns of genetic diversity to those in the past: this allows us to track evolutionary processes including artificial selection, extinction, speciation and domestication through time.

We are looking for you:

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher to analyse genomic data from ancient domestic animal pathogens. Our team has already identified key archaeological and historical specimens from across Eurasia, which possess traces of highly interesting pathogens species (e.g. Marek’s disease virus in chickens). The goal of the postdoc is to assist with the generation of pathogen genomes from these samples, and to (primarily) analyse the resulting genomic data. The overarching goal is to compare modern and ancient genomic data set to identify genetic variability that differentiates strains before and after the intensification of farming in second half of 20th century that can be functionally validated in collaborations with other labs at LMU and beyond. The work will be primarily computational, but the post-holder will be expected to assist with the logistic of sampling and data generation in our ancient DNA laboratory (e.g. programming robotic platforms). The postdoctoral researcher will be a part of a larger team comprising several postdocs and PhD students investigating the evolutionary history of domestic animals using palaeogenomics and zooarcheological methods.

• Analyse pathogen both modern and ancient genomic data
• Assist with the development of laboratory methods to improve the recovery of ancient pathogen DNA

Your qualifications:

• PhD in Genomics or equivalent
• Experience with analyses of Next Generation Sequencing data
• Experience with bacterial, viral or metagenomics
• Experience with analysing palaeogenomic data (desirable)
• An interest in Evolutionary biology and/or Archaeology (desirable)
• Experience with lab techniques related to ancient DNA (desirable)
• Experience with training others in lab techniques (desirable)
• Proficiency in English (prerequisite) and German (desirable)

Benefits:

The Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich is one of the largest and most prestigious research institutions in Germany and offers a wide range of training and development opportunities. The workplace is in a central location in Munich that can be easily reached by public transport. The contract is for an initial 2.5 with potential for extension. The salary will be based on TV-L ‘Entgeltgruppe’ E13. The University of Munich is interested in increasing the number of female faculty members and encourages women to apply.

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Also possible in a part-time capacity.

Contact:

To apply, please send a C.V, including contact of two referees, and a cover letter to Laurent.Frantz@lmu.de
For enquiries or further questions please contact Prof. Laurent Frantz: Laurent.Frantz@lmu.de

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