Postdoctoral Researcher Position

The Wisnoski Lab (www.nathanwisnoski.com) is hiring a postdoctoral researcher to investigate the ecology of microbial communities in coastal ecosystems, with a focus on community assembly and spatiotemporal dynamics. The position is supported by a grant from the Mississippi-Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence (MBRACE; https://mbrace.usm.edu/), funded by the U.S. Department of Treasury. The postdoc will be based in the Department of Biological Sciences at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS, but it is also possible to live near coastal sampling sites (e.g., Biloxi, Gulfport, Mobile, New Orleans) to facilitate field work.

The postdoc will address research questions related to their interests, broadly centered on (1) the ecological mechanisms that regulate the assembly, structure, dynamics, and functioning of bacterial communities at the land-ocean interface; (2) terrestrial and aquatic sources of bacterial inputs to coastal communities; and/or (3) relationships between bacterial communities and organic matter quality/quantity. Competitive candidates will have interests or previous experience in microbial field sampling, sample processing in the lab, bioinformatics, and ecological analysis/inference. Applicants with interests in metacommunity ecology are especially welcome.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Data collection/generation in coordination with other research teams
• Analyze multi-omics data with bioinformatics and statistical analyses
• Communicate results through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations

Minimum Qualifications:

• Strong writing skills and an enthusiasm for microbial and/or community ecology
• Highly motivated with the ability to work independently and contribute to a collaborative environment
• Ph.D. in ecology or a related field by start date

Preferred Qualifications:

• Quantitative and computing skills, including bioinformatics and statistics tools (knowledge of R, python, Julia, or another language)
• Experience conducting microbial field sampling campaigns (not necessarily in coastal systems)
• Familiarity with laboratory procedures and basic protocols for processing samples (e.g., extracting DNA and generating datasets for -omics analyses)
• Interests in or experience with mentoring graduate and undergraduate students in laboratory, field, and/or computational research

Instructions for Applying:

Please upload a cover letter, CV, PDFs of 1-3 recent first-authored publications or preprints, and names and contact information for 3 professional references to the following link.

https://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/en-us/job/508654/postdoctoral-associate

For full consideration, apply by January 10, 2025. If the position remains unfilled after this date, applications will be reviewed as they are received until the position is filled.

If you have questions about the position, please email Nathan Wisnoski (nathan.wisnoski@msstate.edu).