To reinforce our team in Lausanne, Switzerland, we are seeking a

Postdoctoral position in evolutionary genomics

Job tasks

The Group of Prof. Marc Robinson-Rechavi is proposing a Postdoctoral (Premier Assistant) position in evolutionary genomics at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. The postdoc will join a dynamic team working mainly on linking the evolution of animal development to genome evolution.

We are looking for a postdoc to participate in a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation on "Selection on gene expression at different time scales and vertebrate Evo-Devo". The postdoc will study how levels of polymorphism impact variability in gene expression, in outbred ray-finned fishes and in amphioxus. The project will build on ongoing work in the group: (1) On genetic variation in amphioxus, which has one of the highest rates of heterozygosity known among animals, despite being very conserved in anatomy, genome structure, and species diversity. And (2) on gene expression variability in fishes, in relation to gene function and evolution. Both amphioxus and fishes provide links between genome duplications and Evo-Devo, with a contrast between fast evolving teleost fishes, and slow evolving amphioxus or gar. All DNA and RNA data are already available and pre-processed.

The postdoc will have great freedom to define the specific directions of their work, and to initiate collaborations within and outside the group, within the broad framework of the project. They will notably have the opportunity to work with PhD students developing bioinformatics methods to characterize gene expression, and to collaborate with group alumni who are working on related projects in other universities.

The person will participate in the life of the Department of Ecology and Evolution (internal and external seminars, journal clubs, etc), one of the largest and most active of Europe. They will also be a member of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

The contract will be for 1 year, renewable for an additional 2 years. The ideal starting date is 1 January 2026, but there is flexibility to start earlier or later. The postdoc will participate in some bachelor and/or masters teaching, in English or in French; they will have the opportunity to supervise master students or other interns. Working conditions in Lausanne are extremely competitive, and include access to state-of-the-art computing and sequencing facilities. The Department and the group are highly international, and all activities are conducted in English. Salary and benefits are internationally highly competitive. Additional funding for consumables, computing, and to attend international conferences is available.

For background, please see:

https://bioinfo.unil.ch/

https://www.bgee.org/

Profile requirements

We are seeking to recruit someone with a strong interest and a PhD degree in evolutionary biology, Evo-Devo, bioinformatics, genome biology, or a related field. The PhD must have been obtained in 2024 or 2025, or you must have plans to complete it in the next 6 months. Skills:

Track record of publication necessary
Good level of scientific English necessary
Basic competence in R necessary
Basic competence in a scripting language (e.g., Python, Perl) would be a plus
Proven interest in evolutionary genomics or transcriptomics would be a plus
Experience with animal genomics or transcriptomics would be a plus
Proven autonomy in writing papers and projects would be a plus
Experience in collaborative or interdisciplinary projects would be a plus

How to apply

If you are interested in this challenging and highly interesting position, please send your application through the UNIL online platform here.

Le Temps emploi

19/06/2025

Postdoctoral position in evolutionary genomics

Emploi permanent 100%

SIB Institut Suisse de Bioinformatique

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