Theoretical and Computational Biology Research Fellow

About The Position

Position Type: Fully Remote
Duration: 1 year, with possibility of renewal contingent upon funding

Research Directions

The Group's Work Spans Several Interconnected Areas

• Minimal models of evolution: Studying how simple rule-based systems give rise to adaptation, complexity, and the structural features we associate with life
• Computational constraints on evolution: Investigating how properties like computational irreducibility shape what evolution can and cannot achieve, and what this means for predictability in biological systems.
• Origins and nature of biological complexity: Understanding what makes biological organization fundamentally distinct from non-biological complexity, drawing on concepts from philosophy, mathematics, physics, and computation
• General principles of living systems: Searching for laws or regularities that hold across organisms and environments—statements about life that don't depend on specific genes, species, or biochemical details.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. (or expected by start date) in a relevant field—this could be in biology, physics, mathematics, computer science, complex systems, philosophy, or any discipline where you've engaged seriously with foundational biological questions
• Strong computational skills and comfort with programming
• Desired experience with the Wolfram Language, or willingness to make it the primary research tool
• Demonstrated ability to think independently about theoretical problems
• Genuine interest in the kind of work described here

Application Materials

• Cover letter (1 page max) explaining your interest in our research program and how your background and qualifications prepares you for it
• CV (2 pages max) including publications, preprints, computational projects, and technical skills
• Code sample or computational project (optional but encouraged)—a link to a GitHub repository, computational notebook, or similar work that demonstrates your computational approaches
• Three references with contact information, including people who can speak to your computational abilities and research approaches. They will be contacted only after the first screening round