Applications are solicited for a post doctoral fellowship position in a Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI)-funded project to be carried out at the CFIA’s Ontario Laboratory Network facility in Ottawa, Ontario. Current funding for this Fellowship is for 12 months.
The project is focused on the identification of new molecular markers through sequencing and bioinformatics for the purpose of detection, identification, characterization, and monitoring of food-borne verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) and identifying sources of the pathogen.
The main expectations for the Fellow are (1) to work with federal government bioinformatics and pathogen genomics experts on the development of an approach for the identification of outbreak strain-specific markers to develop simple PCR tests for rapid deployment to front line testing labs; (2) to apply comparative genomics analyses in examining the stability of genomic (molecular typing) markers in a model E. coli O157:H7 strain under real world field conditions in an agricultural production environment; and (3) to conduct comparative analyses of E. coli WGS databases for the purpose of evaluating the utility of a novel virulence indexation approach in differentiating various types of pathogenic E. coli (i.e., VTEC, EPC, ETEC, etc).
The successful candidate should have significant recent PhD/post doctoral experience in molecular biology, particularly as applied in the analysis of microbes, and sufficient proficiency in bioinformatics and computational genomics to enable the application of these tools in the analysis of microbial genomics datasets. Previous experience with genomics of pathogens will be an advantage.
The lead scientist on the project is Dr. Burton Blais of the CFIA’s Ottawa Laboratory.
Applicants should provide the following information:
- CV
- A cover letter clearly demonstrating how the candidate meets the education and experience requirements of the position.
- Names and contact information for three references.
- Confirmation that they are on the NSERC Visiting Feloowship Inventory.
To:
Burton W. Blais, Ph.D.
Section Head, Research and Development
Ottawa Laboratory (Carling)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Bldg. 22, Central Experimental Farm
960 Carling Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0C6
Tel. 613-759-1267
Fax 613-759-1260
e-mail: burton.blais@inspection.gc.ca
Starting date: Fall, 2013. One year anticipated duration, possibly longer, contigent upon further funding by through the GRDI program.
Application deadline: October 30, 2013.
Stipend: approx: CDN$47,200 per year, under the Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government Laboratories program of the National and Scientific and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Recent Comments