Researcher in Phylogenetic Methods

Researcher in Phylogenetic Methods

SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Uppsala, Sweden

About the position

A researcher position is available in Mariana Braga's group at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden. Research in the Evolving Networks lab centers around understanding how species interactions change over time and space, with a focus on butterfly caterpillar-plant interactions and development of phylogenetic methods. The EvonetsLab is supported by a Starting Grant from the European Research Council and a DDLS Fellowship from the SciLifeLab and Wallenberg Swedish program for data-driven life science. This is a permanent position bound to a time-limited project.

The successful candidate will be working within the development team of TreePPL, a universal probabilistic programming language and new software for phylogenetics. The successful candidate will be responsible for the user-interface aspects of the project, through development of the R package (www.github.com/treeppl/treepplr). The work will include development and implementation of methods to test model adequacy, inference diagnostics, model comparison, and visualization of outputs from various models, including host repertoire evolution, tree inference, and diversification.

The team’s common language is English so fluency in English is essential. To successfully carry out the various tasks, the candidate should take initiative, work independently and demonstrate that they are solution-oriented and can adapt and come up with creative solutions to technical problems. We put strong emphasis on personal qualifications such as collaborative skills. Since the applicant will be working closely with other group members, excellent communication, good will and reliability are required.

Your profile

We are looking for a highly motivated and independent yet collaborative candidate with documented experience with phylogenetic comparative methods and R-package development.

Requirements:

• PhD in Ecology, Evolution, Bioinformatics or related areas
• Previous research experience in phylogenetic comparative methods
• Excellent skills in R programming
• Excellent writing and communication skills in English
• Documented ability to independently drive research and publish scientific results
• Good ability to work in teams
• Personal suitability

Merits:

• Research experience on Bayesian statistics and model adequacy
• Experience with development of R packages
• Familiarity with RevBayes and probabilistic programming
• Ability to collaborate in interdisciplinary projects

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