Postdoctoral Associate

Urban Evolutionary Entomology Laboratory at Virginia Tech is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral associate to investigate fundamental questions in population genomics and urban evolution using pest insect systems.

About the role

Research will focus on understanding the genomic mechanisms underlying lineage establishment, persistence, adaptation, and extinction in highly inbred populations inhabiting urban environments. The successful candidate will address questions at the interface of evolutionary genetics, population genomics, and urban ecology, with broad implications for adaptation in anthropogenic ecosystems and the evolution of economically important pest species.

Current research themes include insecticide resistance evolution over historic to contemporary time frames, population genomics across socioeconomic landscapes, and the heritability of stress-induced epigenetic marks. A variety of next-generation sequencing approaches may be employed, including ddRADseq, whole genome sequencing, targeted sequence capture, and other emerging genomic technologies.

Responsibilities

• Participate in all aspects of the research program, including experimental design, molecular laboratory work, bioinformatic analyses, data interpretation, and preparation of peer-reviewed publications.
• Lead first-author publications and contribute to collaborative manuscripts.
• Collaborate in the development of grant proposals and contribute to independent research ideas.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students, assist with project coordination, and foster a collaborative research environment.
• Play an active role in laboratory operations.
• Engage in professional development through scientific publishing, grant writing, student mentorship, research leadership, scientific outreach, and teaching.
• Assist in the development and delivery of courses related to population and evolutionary genetics, invasive species genomics, and urban evolutionary biology (opportunities may exist).

Requirements

• Ph.D. in evolutionary biology, molecular ecology, genomics, integrative biology, or a closely related discipline, earned no more than four years prior to the effective date of appointment, with a minimum of one year of eligibility remaining.
• Strong background in population genomics and evolutionary biology.
• Significant experience with molecular laboratory techniques including DNA extraction, PCR, and genomic library preparation.
• Expertise in next-generation sequencing approaches and genomic data analysis.
• Experience with bioinformatic pipelines and command-line computational environments.
• Strong scientific writing and communication skills, as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications and publication potential.

Preferred Qualifications

• Research experience in one or more of the following areas: urban evolutionary biology, insect evolutionary biology, demonstrated ability to design and execute independent research projects, insect rearing, student mentoring, scientific outreach and science communication, and contributing to grant proposals.

Pay

$53,550–$65,029

Schedule

40 hours per week

Informal inquiries are welcome and may be directed to Dr. Warren Booth at warrenbooth@vt.edu. The successful candidate will be required to have a criminal conviction check.