[HELICONIUS] 2-year Postdoc in population genomics - CNRS Montpellier, France

[JORON Mathieu]

Dear all

Please find bleow an ad for a postdoc position in my group, to work on the amazing supergene of Heliconius numata. Great project, rich research community, lavish salaries ;), sun everyday, great food, tropical fieldwork. What else? Feel free to ask for any information and please forward this to anyone who might be intereseted. 

Best wishes

Mathieu

PS: attached is the poster version

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** 2-year Postdoc in population genomics - CNRS Montpellier, France **

A 2-year post-doctoral fellowship is available to work on the evolutionary genomics and demography of inversion polymorphism in tropical butterflies (Heliconius), in the group of Mathieu Joron (http://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr) at the Centre for Evolutionary and Functional Ecology (CNRS CEFE) in Montpellier, France

Inversion polymorphisms often act as Mendelian loci (or supergenes), switching between different ecological strategies coexisting within populations, such as alternative social organisations in ants or pollination syndromes in flowering plants. The present offer focuses on the spectacular wing pattern polymorphism of the tropical butterfly Heliconius numata, famous for its distinct mimetic forms controlled by a series of adjacent chromosomal inversions. We study the evolution of this genetic architecture using theoretical, genomic, and ecological approaches.

The postdoc will lead genomic research aiming at understanding how inversions establish and spread through populations and across the distribution range. The project allows for much flexibility in the direction taken depending on the skills and interests of the person hired. Major objectives include understanding supergene evolution and their role in population demography and differentiation, the dissection of deleterious mutations and antagonistic fitness effects of inversions, or the factors driving the evolution of disassortative mating. Datasets available include 120 resequenced genomes, multiple independent reference assemblies, transcriptomes and annotations, and will be expanded during the project.

The postdoc will join the group of Mathieu Joron at CEFE, who studies butterfly wing patterns as a model to understand the role of natural selection in shaping diversity. The project involves a consortium of teams (CEFE Montpellier, Museum of natural history in Paris, Inria in Rennes) and the postdoc will interact with team members working on the ecology of inversion polymorphism, the modelling of balancing selection, or the functional dissection of wing-patterning. Our partner institution INRIA Genscale in Rennes is a major bioinformatics institute, so the postdoc will enjoy direct support from a bioinformatics team.

The CEFE is a major institute in Europe for evolutionary ecology and genetics. Within CEFE, our team comprises 12 CNRS researchers whose research combines genetics and evolutionary ecology to address a diversity of topics on adaptation and natural variation. Montpellier is a major hotspot for evolutionary and environmental research worldwide and has a vibrant research community with several hundred researchers in this domain, and highly praised graduate programmes. The University of Montpellier ranked 1st in the 2018 and 2019 Shanghai ranking in Ecology. Montpellier lies near the Mediterranean region in the South of France and enjoys pleasant weather, fantastic nature and great cultural and city life.

Candidates should have a PhD or equivalent in biological sciences or computational biology (by the starting date), advanced knowledge of population genetic theory, a keen interest in understanding biodiversity. Candidates should have experience with genomic datasets, population genomics and/or demographic inferences using genomic data.

Starting date : ideally before the summer 2020, and no later than Oct. 2020. Net salary: between 25 k€/year and 35 k€/year depending on experience, including social benefits and public health insurance.

Applications : Informal enquiries are highly encouraged. Please contact Mathieu Joron, mathieu.joron at cefe.cnrs.fr. Website: http://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr. Formal applications must be done through the CNRS portal (http://bit.ly/2tGenlZ). Applicants should upload a letter of application with details on their motivation and achievements and including proposed research directions, a full CV, the names and contact details of two references, and their date of availability.

Application deadline 23 February.


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Mathieu Joron
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (UMR 5175)
CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier 5, France
+33 (0)4-67-61-32-03. http://joron.cefe.cnrs.fr

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