Postdoctoral Position in community-engaged human microbiome research
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Job Location:
Saint Louis, MI - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
2 days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
The Mallott () and Gildner ( labs are jointly recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to join an interdisciplinary team investigating links between flooding environmental pathogen levels and related intestinal infection risk in low-resource regions of the United States. The postdoc will contribute to a newly-funded multi-disciplinary project:Predicting Flood-Related Health Threats in At-Risk U.S. Communities. The postdoc will work closely with communities in flood-prone regions of the Midwest and Mississippi Delta to develop tools to predict health risks from flooding and assist local residents and decision-makers in identifying and reducing flood-related health unique postdoc position combines anthropological and microbiome research methods focusing on understanding how environmental factors influence human health through microbial pathways. The successful candidate will split time between Gildner and Mallott labs conducting longitudinal data collection laboratory analyses and community outreach. The postdoc will join a cohort of graduate students and postdocs across Earth Science Environmental Engineering Data Science and Statistics Microbiology and Anthropology.
Key Responsibilities
Fieldwork
Assist with participant recruitment and communication.
Lead participant data collection (interviews anthropometric measurements dried blood spot samples and stool samples) during quarterly site visits to the two study sites.
Conduct soil microbiome sampling along designated transects and at participant residences during quarterly site visits.
Laboratory Research
Perform laboratory methods to prepare soil and fecal samples for microbiome sequencing (DNA extraction PCR).
Assist with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analyses to measure intestinal health.
Analyze soil and fecal microbiome sequencing data using established bioinformatics pipelines.
Administrative & Data Management
Mentor graduate and undergraduate students and contribute to a collaborative research environment.
Enter and maintain participant data in REDCap database systems.
Assist in sharing laboratory results with study participants.
Disseminate findings through publications and conference presentations.
Required Qualifications
Education:Ph.D. in Biological anthropology Ecology Evolutionary biology Environmental microbiology or a related field.
Fieldwork Experience:Experience with field data collection (participant interviews and data collection environmental sampling or other field experience).
Laboratory Experience:Experience with common wet lab techniques.
Travel Availability:Ability and willingness to travel to the Mississippi Delta quarterly for fieldwork. The second site is within a 30 minute drive of WashUs campus.
Communication:Strong interpersonal skills for participant engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. Strong publication and presentation record.
Preferred Qualifications
Molecular biology experience (DNA extraction PCR sequencing library preparation).
Experience with analyzing microbiome data and/or analyzing sequencing data in a high-performance computing environment.
Experience in BSL2 laboratory and familiarity with ELISA techniques.
Demonstrated fieldwork experience in community-based research and participant recruitment.
Experience with environmental or soil sampling.
Familiarity with biomarker collection techniques (e.g. anthropometrics dried blood spots).
Proficiency with data management systems (REDCap experience preferred).
Key Skills
- Virology
- Bioinformatics
- Genetics
- R
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology
- Research Experience
- Spectroscopy
- Cell Culture
- Molecular Biology
- Microscopy
- Research Laboratory Experience
About Company
Washington University in St. Louis offers rewarding opportunities in various fields at all levels, with positions in engineering, nursing and health care, research, administration, technology, security and more. We seek people from diverse backgrounds to join us in a supportive enviro ... View more
