Post-Doc Research Associate (Furey Lab 2)

A global higher education leader in innovative teaching, research and public service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill consistently ranks as one of the nation's top public universities and is among is the top ten research universities in the nation for federal research expenditures as well as for federally funded social and behavioral sciences research and development.

Here at Carolina, our highly skilled postdocs play a vital role in our research enterprise and towards our overall commitment to research excellence. Across many disciplines, postdocs contribute to the intellectual vitality of the University. They provide innovative ideas and perspectives, foster a stimulating research environment and advance knowledge within their fields. Postdocs are crucial members of our scientific research workforce, contributors to our research outputs and an important reason why Carolina is one of the leading public research institutions in the country.

UNC-Chapel Hill offers postdocs comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits and services that support professional development and a healthy work/life balance. Chapel Hill regularly ranks as one of the best college towns and best places to live in the United States, a reputation guided by the diverse social, cultural, recreation and professional opportunities that span the campus and community.

The mission of the Genetics department is to provide basic and applied genetic/genomic research, education, and training at the interface between biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, mathematics, the social sciences, public health, and medicine to have a profound effect on how medicine will be practiced in the future.

Our graduate programs train students to be creative, sophisticated research scientists prepared to pursue careers focused on genetics and genomics working in academic science, government, or commercial positions. Students conduct their dissertation research using diverse experimental approaches - from classical genetics to the most modern molecular methods - to address a broad range of contemporary problems in biomedical science.

The Department also includes a clinical arm focused on medical genetics, which covers the broad spectrum of clinical genetic research from disease prevention to diagnosis and treatment. This specialty includes evaluation, mutation discovery, counseling and risk assessment through analysis and genetic testing. Locating the clinical group alongside basic scientists facilitates integration of cutting-edge genetic research with patient care.

The laboratory of Dr. Terry Furey, PhD in the Department of Genetics seeks a post-doctoral fellow to participate in his inflammatory bowel diseases ( IBD)-focused computational genomics research program, part of a collaboration with Dr. Shehzad Shiekh, MD, PhD, faculty in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Furey and Dr. Sheikh, collaborators for over 10 years, aim to uncover the mechanistic linkages between the genome ( DNA sequence variants), epigenome (chromatin accessibility, histone modifications), and the environment (metabolome, intestinal microbiome) in the onset and progression of the complex diseases. We have performed multiple functional genomics experiments ( ATAC-seq, RNA-seq, scRNA-seq, Cut-N-Run ChIP-seq, miRNA-seq, metabolomics) in tissue samples and individual cell types from colons and ileums of genotyped adult and pediatric IBD patients and controls. We are looking for a post-doctoral fellow to lead the computational analysis and interpretation of these data to further understand the molecular basis of this disease. In particular, the candidate will lead our investigations into chromatin, epigenetic, and transcriptional alterations associated with disease phenotypes. The successful candidate will gain experience in several cutting-edge computational genomics analyses techniques and gain knowledge and expertise in diagnosis and treatment of IBD. Importantly, these projects have great potential to become independent research projects that would further ambitious, motivated post-doctoral careers. In addition to research, the post-doctoral fellow will be actively involved with writing scientific papers and presenting talks at scientific meetings. There is also an opportunity to be involved in experiments in the Sheikh lab.

PhD in Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, or a related field.

Laboratory research experience in computational biology and bioinformatics

Candidates applying should be proficient in one or more of the following programming languages: Python, Perl, R, Java, C. Candidates must be familiar with the functional genomics experiments indicated above and have experience analyzing data from these experiments using robust computational, mathematical, and computational techniques.

Experience leading and conducting these genomics experiments and performing research in inflammatory bowel diseases, intestinal, or immune-related diseases is highly desired. Candidates should have strong communication and analytical skills.

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If you experience any problems accessing the system or have questions about the application process, please contact the University's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at (919) 962-9982 or send an email to opahr@unc.edu.

Please note: The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.