Postdoctoral Investigator: Population Genetics of Marine Microbial Eukaryotes

About the Role

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Investigator in Genomics and Population Genetics. This position focuses on developing computational approaches to characterize genetic diversity, population structure, and adaptive variation in marine microbial eukaryotes using single-cell genomic, transcriptomic, and metagenomic data. The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr. Harriet Alexander.

The goal is to develop and apply population genetic approaches to single-cell, transcriptomic, and metagenomic datasets generated from natural microbial communities. Most protistan plankton cannot be cultured or isolated as individuals, so classical population genetic methods do not transfer directly to these systems. This position will build new analytical frameworks for extracting population-level signal from mixed-community sequence data, advancing the study of evolution and adaptation in the ocean’s most abundant and least understood organisms.

The ideal candidate will collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of biologists and bioinformaticians and have opportunities to participate in educational and outreach activities associated with the project.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent and collaborative research developing and applying population genetic methods to single-cell genomic, transcriptomic, and metagenomic data.
• Analyze high-throughput sequence data from environmental samples.
• Develop and troubleshoot bioinformatics pipelines.
• Manage, curate, and archive genetic/genomic data.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in biological oceanography, evolutionary biology, population genetics, or a related field.
• Strong background in oceanography, microbial ecology, population genetics, or molecular evolution.
• Experience with high-throughput sequence data (single-cell genomics/transcriptomics and/or metagenomics).
• Proficiency in Python, R, and/or BASH.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, preferably demonstrated through publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations.

Direct experience with non-model or environmentally sampled organisms, workflow management systems (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow), and high-performance computing is preferred but not required.

Benefits

This is a full-time position with full benefits. For more details, visit WHOI Benefits.

Schedule

The initial appointment is one year. Renewal is conditional on satisfactory progress and continuation of funding. Target start date is September 15, 2026.

Location

WHOI is situated in the village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, approximately 1.5 hours driving south of Boston. The institution is co-located with several other leading marine research organizations, fostering a vibrant research community.

WHOI supports a dynamic postdoctoral community with formal mentoring and career guidance programs.

WHOI accepts applications on a rolling basis, with early applicants receiving priority consideration. Applications will be reviewed as they are received.