Two PhD students in Bioinformatics and Genetics

The Swedish Museum of Natural History is one of the leading institutions of its kind in Europe. It combines a venerable tradition and unique collections with cutting-edge research in geology, paleontology and biology.

The department of Bioinformatics and Genetics was formed in 2013 and brings together museum activities in informatics and genetics. The Centre for Palaeogenetics is a research centre jointly funded by Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

WORK TASKS
The Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics invites applications for a four-year PhD position based at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm. The project is aimed at analysing environmental DNA from both ancient sediments and modern samples. The analyses will use state-of-the-art genomic methods as well as development of new bioinformatic tools, aimed at analysing complex metagenomic samples. The PhD project is part of a 5-year research programme funded by the Wallenberg foundation. The goals of this research programme are to develop and apply computational tools to investigate to possibilities of biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA and tracking of species distribution through time using ancient sediment DNA. The PhD student will join the research group led by Tom van der Valk (see http://palaeogenetics.com/tom-van-der-valk/).

QUALIFICATIONS
In order to meet the general entry requirements, the applicant must have completed a second-cycle degree, completed courses equivalent to at least 240 higher education credits, of which 60 credits must be in the second cycle, or have otherwise acquired equivalent knowledge in Sweden or elsewhere.

In order to meet the specific entry requirements, the applicants must have completed at least 120 higher education credits in biology, and at least 30 credits from a degree project within population genetics, molecular systematics, evolutionary biology, ecology, bioinformatics, conservation biology or a similar subject. The qualification requirements must be met before the start of the employment.

Only a person who will be or has already been admitted to a postgraduate education at a university may be employed as doctoral student.

Selection
The selection among the eligible candidates will be based on their capacity to benefit from the training. The following criteria will be used to assess this capacity: the candidates documented knowledge in a relevant field of research, written and oral proficiency in English, the capacity for analytical thinking, the ability to collaborate, as well as creativity, initiative, and independence. The assessment will be based on previous experience and grades, the quality of the degree project, references, relevant experience, interviews, and the candidates written motivation for seeking the position. In addition, experience in:

• population genetics
• analysing of DNA/RNA sequence data (Nanopore, Pacbio and/or Illumina)
• generation and analysis of sequence data from challenging samples (environmental, non-invasive and/or ancient)
• working with bash command line and Python/R
• working on a high-performance computer cluster
• molecular lab techniques (DNA extraction from challenging samples, DNA sequence library preparation, PCR)
• working with endangered or extinct species and experience with the challenges related to those (ethical, field-work, sample-collection)
• a strong interest in biodiversity

are important qualifications.

OTHER
Please include the following documents:
• Cover letter (maximum 1 page)
• CV – degrees and other completed courses, relevant skills, work experience and a list of degree projects/theses
• Degree projects/theses
• Contact details for two references.
The Swedish Museum of Natural History strives for gender balance, and ethnic and cultural diversity among its staff.