Postdoctoral Fellowship in Microbial Ecology A Postdoctoral Fellowship in microbial ecology and biogeography, funded through the Intelligence Community (IC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program (http://www.icpostdoc.org/index.cfm), is available at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory (http://www.al.umces.edu/). The fellow will use metagenomic tools to study factors influencing spatial and temporal variation in the composition of soil microbial communities and will assess the potential of using soil microbial communities as a forensic tool. Opportunities exist for involvement with ongoing studies concerning the impacts of environmental change on microbial community composition and function.
Potential Fellows must be U.S. citizens and associated with an accredited U.S. university, college or not-for-profit organization. Successful candidates must have completed a PhD in microbial ecology, soil microbiology, biogeography, or a closely related field before starting the fellowship. Applicants must have experience conducting independent research and using molecular methods to assess microbial community composition; experience with pyrosequencing, metagenomics, and bioinformatics is desired. Applicants should also have an interest in developing collaborations with the Intelligence Community. Start date is approximately October 1, 2009. Evaluation of applications will begin June 1, 2009 and will continue until the position is filled. Salary is $45,400 per year and includes fringe benefits. Two years of funding are available with a third year contingent upon funding. Applicants should email (in PDF format) a cover letter describing research experience and goals, a curriculum vitae, no more than 3 reprints, and contact information for three professional references to Dr. David Nelson, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, 301 Braddock Rd., Frostburg, MD 21532. Email: [email protected] The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
