Job Opportunities

For information or to apply, contact: Dr. Massimo Iorizzo, Department of Horticultural Science, Plants for Human Health Institute, North Carolina State University

Post Doctoral Scholar

Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) Small Fruit and Vegetable Breeding and Genomics Faculty member, Dr. Massimo Iorizzo, is seeking a highly motivated post-doc that will lead a pioneering project aiming at using NGS (Illumina and PacBio) to develop a local pan-genome spanning QTL regions associated with quality-related traits (color, bioactive content and profile, chemical composition), with the ultimate goal to identify candidate mutation controlling trait of interest. The candidate must have a strong motivation and proficiency for publications.

The successful incumbent of this position must be familiar with plant genome assembly (de-novo), gene prediction and annotation with an emphasis The position will be responsible for coordinating/performing sample collection, phenotyping, processing, data analysis, and data interpretation. Tasks will include sample collection, phenotyping, DNA/RNA extraction, bioinformatic analysis including sequence assembly, annotation, comparative analysis, SNP and SV analysis, and Genome Wide Association Analysis. The ultimate goal will be to identify candidate genes/candidate mutations underlying the trait of interest.

Required education and experience:

  • Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, Plant Biology, Biological Science with demonstrated experience in quantitative genetics, bioinformatics, and biochemistry, or related field.
  • Strong background in analysis of next-generation sequencing including short and long reads technology, comparative genome or pan-genome construction and analysis.
  • Familiar with molecular biology techniques (DNA, RNA extraction, PCR), preparation of library for DNA/RNA sequencing.
  • Background in quantitative genetics, (GWAS) in diploid plants.
  • Familiar with NGS and high-throughput genotyping technologies and identification of candidate genes/mutation affecting traits of interest.
  • Experience in population genetic analysis (e.g. phylogenetic, PCA, structure, nucleotide diversity).
  • Proficiency to publish findings in well-recognized peer-reviewed journals.
  • Ability to manage more than one project in a rapid and smooth manner while being able to interact and communicate with research personnel from diverse disciplines.

This position is located in Kannapolis, NC

Apply here: https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/153355

Research Scholar

Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI) Small Fruit and Vegetable Breeding and Genomics Faculty member, Dr. Massimo Iorizzo, is seeking a highly motivated individual with expertise in bioinformatics and plant genomics to join the lab as a Research Scholar. The Research Scholar is expected to conduct advanced research in the group to develop genomic resources and reconcile, analyze complex multi-omics datasets to study genes and metabolic pathways affecting accumulation of health-promoting, phytoactive compounds in fruit and vegetable crops. The successful incumbent of this position must be familiar with plant genome assembly (de-novo), gene prediction and annotation with an emphasis on genes involved in plant metabolic pathway, and comparative genomic analysis (e.g. Pan-genome analysis). Experience with marker traits association analysis such as QTL or GWAS analysis will be a plus. This research position is expected to coordinate and/or conduct multiple, concurrent assignments or a multi-faceted project. This position will engage in collaborative projects with other lab members and external collaborators that have expertise in plant and molecular biology, quantitative genetics, crop breeding and metabolomics. The position will also develop and maintain new analytical pipelines and computational/statistical approaches to analyze data, and provide training to other lab members including students, on bioinformatics and computational applications and tools in an HPC environment. The position will lead and assist in preparation technical reports, manuscripts and presentations. Depending on academic productivity, opportunity for career advancement exists within the Iorizzo lab. Required education and experience:

  • Ph.D. (or relevant terminal degree) in Bioinformatics, Genetics or related field.
  • Experience with advanced (such as Illumina, PacBio, Nanopore, Hi-C) sequence technologies to study plant genomes and characterize genes involved in secondary metabolite accumulation. This includes genome assembly, gene prediction, gene annotation, quantitative transcriptome analysis and integration of multi-omics data to perform gene network analysis.
  • Experience to work with multiple high-performance computing platform (eg. LSF, Slurm, SGE).
  • Experience with marker traits association analysis such as QTL or GWAS analysis will be a plus.

This position is located in Kannapolis, NC Apply here: https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/142938