Description

This opportunity is currently available for internal applicants only as THERE IS A ROBUST INTERNAL CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine invites applications for a Research Associate. This Full-time Fixed Termposition is for approximately 1 year (based on length of grant funding), with the possibility of extension.

This position reports to the Principal Investigator and receives direction from the PI on research priorities. The position supports a research program on the genomics, evolution and surveillance of mosquitoes and other biting insects, including native and invasive vector species and the pathogens they carry. Much of this work is carried out with collaborating institutions in Canada and internationally.

Workload has peak periods tied to the summer field season, sequencing runs, manuscript revisions, and grant and funder reporting deadlines, and the position may occasionally require work outside regular hours (e.g., time-sensitive sample processing or field collections). Occasional travel to field sites, collaborating institutions or scientific meetings may be required.

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

Genomic and computational research:

- Produces high-quality genome assemblies and annotations by planning sequencing strategies with the PI, running and comparing assembly and scaffolding approaches, curating assemblies, and documenting quality metrics
- Conducts comparative genomic, phylogenomic and phylogenetic comparative analyses that answer the project‿s research questions, choosing appropriate methods and models and checking results for robustness
- Develops,



maintains and documents bioinformatic pipelines and code so that analyses are reproducible and usable by other lab members
- Manages large genomic datasets on university computing resources, and deposits data, assemblies and code in public repositories (e.g., NCBI, GitHub) in line with funder and journal requirements.

Laboratory and field work:

- Performs molecular laboratory work as needed by projects, including nucleic acid extraction, PCR, and sequencing library preparation, and keeps accurate records of samples and protocols
- Participates in collection, identification and curation of insect specimens as required by projects
- Disposes of chemical and biological waste properly, keeps work areas in line with safety standards, and helps ensure the safe operation of laboratory instruments

Project coordination, communication and dissemination:

- Reports progress and results regularly to the PI and laboratory members, and actively participates in lab meetings and journal clubs
- Writes manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, as well as reports that meet deliverable requirements of partners and funders, and presents results at scientific meetings
- Contributes to the preparation of grant applications and progress reports

Training and mentorship:

- In conjunction with the PI,



trains and supports graduate and undergraduate students and other lab personnel in genomic, bioinformatic and laboratory methods, and assists the PI with their day-to-day guidance

General:

- Works within established University research guidelines and project-specific protocols, including data management and biosafety requirements
- Advises the PI of any incident or occupational illness as outlined in University of Calgary Safety and Security protocols
- Identifies problems and recommends solutions to the PI
- Interacts with lab members, collaborators and University staff in a respectful and professional manner, and maintains confidentiality of unpublished data and partner information
- May be involved in additional research projects as required and when time is available

Qualifications / Requirements:

- A PhD in evolutionary biology, genomics, bioinformatics, or a related field, or equivalent multi-year work experience with a BSc or MSc, depending on degree achieved
- Previous postdoctoral or other significant research experience
- Demonstrated expertise in genomics and/or bioinformatics, shown by first-authored peer-reviewed publications
- Hands-on experience with de novo genome assembly and quality assessment from long-read data (e.g., hifiasm or similar assemblers, Hi-C scaffolding, BUSCO/compleasm, Merqury), and with genome annotation (e.g., repeat masking and gene prediction pipelines such as BRAKER)
- Experience with comparative genomic and/or phylogenomic analyses (e.g., orthology inference, multiple sequence alignment, maximum-likelihood and coalescent species-tree inference with tools such as IQ-TREE and ASTRAL)
- Proficiency working in a Linux command-l

📌 Research Associate, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Calgary)
🏢 University of Calgary
📍 Calgary