Location: Geneva, Switzerland - Closing Date: 31 August 2023
The LANE laboratory at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) is seeking a creative and highly motivated PostDoc bioinformatician to work on reptilian skin coloration.
In the context of a highly multidisciplinary study investigating the development of skin colour patterns in snakes and lizards, we are looking for a bioinformatician active in genome analysis. The aim of the project is to perform genome mapping, as well as differential gene expression analyses based on RNAseq, for different color morphs of corn snakes and leopard geckos. The successful candidate will interact with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, computer scientists and biologists and will have access to the high-performance CPU and GPU clusters of UNIGE. The working language of the laboratory is English. The duration of the contract is one to two years.
Tzika, Ullate-Agote, Zakany, Kummrow & Milinkovitch Somitic positional information guides self-organized patterning of snake scales Science Advances (2023)
Ullate-Agote & Tzika Characterization of the Leucistic Texas Rat Snake Pantherophis obsoletus Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2021)
Ullate-Agote, Burgelin, Debry, Langrez, Montange, Peraldi, Daraspe, Kaessmann, Milinkovitch & Tzika Genome mapping of a LYST mutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (2020)
Laboratory. The team’s projects are interdisciplinary, and aim at understanding the genetic determinism of skin colour patterns (especially in snakes and lizards) but also skin appendages (scales, hair, and spines) in amniotes. Besides standard molecular biology methods, we use confocal and light-sheet microscopy imaging, electron microscopy, mass spectrometry and deep sequencing.
Environment. The University of Geneva (UNIGE) is highly-renowned for its research and is among the best universities in the world. Geneva is an international city occupying a privileged geographical situation.
Contact. Interested applicants are invited to send (combined in a single PDF document) a motivation letter with a short statement of research interests, a CV and two references (full address, incl. email and phone number) to: Dr. Athanasia Tzika (athanasia.tzika@unige.ch).
Closing Date: 31 August 2023
Scientific fields: Bioinformatics
Model systems: Snakes, Lizards
Duration: Fixed term
Minimum qualifications: PhD
The International PhD program in Basic & Applied Molecular Life Sciences and the site of the Confederation for Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for Foreign Scholars.
In the context of highly multidisciplinary studies investigating the development of skin colour patterns in the corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus), we are seeking creative and highly motivated students with a background in physics or applied mathematics to investigate physical models of pattern formation in a multicellular biological tissue. The model will be used to understand pattern variation on the skin of the corn snake. The successful candidates will interact with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, computer scientists and biologists and will be trained in theoretical physics applied to biological systems.
The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis by A. M. Turing
Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B, 237, 641: 37-72 (1952)
Genome mapping of a LYST mutation in corn snakes indicates that vertebrate chromatophore vesicles are lysosome-related organelles
PNAS 117, 42 : 26307-26317 (2020)
A Living Mesoscopic Cellular Automaton Made of Skin Scales
Nature 544, 7649 : 173–179 (2017)
Patterning and growth control in vivo by an engineered GFP gradient
Science, 370(6514), 321-327 (2020)
https://genev.unige.ch/research/laboratory/guillaume-salbreux
https://genev.unige.ch/research/laboratory/Michel-Milinkovitch - https://www.lanevol.org
Contact Dr. Athanasia C. Tzika (athanasia [dot] tzika [at] unige.ch) for details.
In the context of highly multidisciplinary studies investigating the development of skin colour patterns in the leopard geckos, we are seeking creative and highly motivated students with strong interest in molecular developmental biology to assist in mapping leopard gecko colour and colour pattern traits. The successful candidates will interact with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, computer scientists and biologists and will be trained in state-of-the-art imaging techniques and molecular developmental approaches.
Contact Dr. Athanasia C. Tzika (athanasia [dot] tzika [at] unige.ch) for details.
In the context of highly multidisciplinary studies investigating the development of skin appendages (project 1) and skin colour patterns (project 2) in vertebrates, we are seeking creative and highly motivated students with strong interests and skills in mathematical modelling and numerical simulations of physical processes (reaction-diffusion, mechanics, …). The successful candidates will interact with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, computer scientists and biologists (the latter using state-of-the-art imaging techniques and molecular developmental approaches).
Contact Prof. Michel C. Milinkovitch (michel [dot] milinkovitch [at] unige.ch) for details.
In the context of highly multidisciplinary studies investigating the development of skin colour patterns in the corn snake, we are seeking creative and highly motivated students with strong interest in molecular developmental biology to assist in mapping corn snake colour and colour pattern traits. The successful candidates will interact with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, computer scientists and biologists and will be trained in state-of-the-art imaging techniques and molecular developmental approaches.
Contact Dr. Athanasia C. Tzika (athanasia [dot] tzika [at] unige.ch) for details.