Position title: Research Fellow - Klebsiella pneumoniae genomics and metabolic modelling

Employer: Monash University

Closing date: February 29 2020

Brief position description: We are recruiting a Research Fellow to work on an exciting new project exploring metabolic diversity in Klebsiella pneumoniae, a World Health Organization priority pathogen. The appointee will use a combination of comparative genomics and genome-scale metabolic modelling approaches to investigate how metabolic capabilities are distributed in the K. pneumoniae population.

K. pneumoniae is a ubiquitous bacterium that can inhabit a broad range of hosts and environmental niches. It is also extremely diverse with access to a gene-pool of more than 100,000 genes, at least a third of which are predicted to encode proteins with metabolic functions, indicating that metabolic capability varies substantially between strains. This is of particular interest because metabolic capacity is considered a key driver of niche preference and the ability to cause disease in different hosts or body sites.

This genomics-focused position is suitable for an individual with strong undergraduate and graduate training in a relevant area of biology (molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, evolutionary biology) as well as demonstrated skills and/or training in a quantitative discipline (statistics, computing, mathematics). The ideal candidate will have experience working with high-throughput genomic data from bacteria, with experience in using command-line programs, as well as writing and troubleshooting code in Python and/or similar programming languages. Previous experience in genome-scale metabolic modelling is helpful but not required.

The appointee will be supervised by Dr Kelly Wyres and Prof Kathryn Holt; will interact with research scientists, students, and administrative staff of Monash University; and collaborate closely with other members of the laboratory, the Department, and international collaborators at the University of California San Diego (USA) and Institut Pasteur (France).

12 month fixed-term appointment with possibility for extension.

Job website: http://careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/job/601348/research-fellow-klebsiella-pneumoniae-genomics-and-metabolic-modelling

Contact name: Kelly Wyres

Contact email: kelly.wyres@monash.edu