Position Function:
The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) at Mississippi State University is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Associate to spearhead a large-scale marine biodiversity assessment project using environmental DNA (eDNA) collected across the global ocean through the Bio-GO-SHIP project. This position is based at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida. The successful candidate will be at the forefront of this major initiative to generate and analyze metabarcoding data from thousands of marine water samples, significantly advancing our understanding of ocean life. This role involves extensive laboratory work in development of high-throughput metabarcoding assays; library preparation using those assays; bioinformatics data analysis, including taxonomic database improvement and the evaluation of novel assignment tools; and data publishing to global biodiversity repositories. This position offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with leading scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), University of California – Irvine, and the Minderoo Foundation, and to make foundational contributions to global marine biodiversity monitoring and open data infrastructure.
Salary Grade: UC
Please see Staff Compensation Structure or Skilled Crafts and Service Maintenance Compensation Schedule for salary ranges. For salary grade UC, these positions are "Unclassified" and salary ranges are determined by the hiring department.
Department Profile:
The Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute comprised of six academic institutions that are geographically distributed across the U.S. Gulf Coast states. The six NGI member institutions are Mississippi State University (lead), the University of Southern Mississippi, Florida State University, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the Dauphin Island Sea Laboratory. Together with NOAA and in support of their strategic plan, NGI conducts research on interconnections among Gulf of Mexico environments, habitats, resources, and people and engages in outreach to help others learn about and make decisions based on these interconnections.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
● Develop, select, and validate a suite of metabarcoding assays (six or more markers) for broad taxonomic coverage of marine eDNA.
● Perform and/or oversee the high-throughput metabarcode library preparation for approximately 4,000 marine eDNA samples, ensuring rigorous quality control and documentation.
● Leverage open-source bioinformatics pipelines for the processing and taxonomic assignment of all generated metabarcoding data.
● Lead the development of curated taxonomic reference databases, focusing on improving resolution for under-represented marine taxa, particularly pelagic lineages.
● In collaboration with project partners, develop and evaluate advanced computational tools and methods for taxonomic assignment.
● Manage the complete data lifecycle, ensuring all raw sequence data, processed taxonomic data, and associated metadata are submitted to public repositories (e.g., NCBI, OBIS) in compliance with FAIR data principles.
● Disseminate project findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific conferences.
● Collaborate closely with the project team at AOML, NGI, WHOI, UCI, and the Minderoo Foundation.
Minimum Qualifications:
● A Ph.D. in molecular biology, computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics, marine science, or a closely related field.
● Demonstrated experience in molecular biology, specifically with DNA metabarcoding, PCR protocol development, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation.
● Substantial bioinformatics experience, including proficiency with the Unix command line, management of large sequencing datasets, and development/use of computational workflows.
● Strong programming and data science skills in languages such as Python and/or R.
● A record of scholarly achievement, evidenced by at least one first-author peer-reviewed publication.
● Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to work effectively in a collaborative research environment.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
● Significant molecular biology experience including developing PCR protocols for DNA metabarcoding and downstream library preparation methods (e.g., library normalization and QA/QC).
● Demonstrated experience analyzing large-scale metabarcoding and/or metagenomic datasets using common bioinformatics tools (e.g., DADA2, QIIME) on high-performance computing (HPC) environments.
● Familiarity with developing and curating genetic reference databases for taxonomic assignment and using various taxonomic assignment algorithms and bioinformatics tools (e.g., BLAST, VSEARCH, naïve Bayes classifiers).
● A strong publication record, including first-author publications in relevant fields.
● Demonstrated commitment to open-source code and FAIR data management principles.
Working Conditions and Physical Effort
Occasional and/or light lifting required up to 10 pounds. Limited exposure to elements such as heat, cold, noise, dust, dirt, etc.; none to the degree of being disagreeable. Frequent standing, walking, climbing or balancing required. Routine deadlines, variance in work volume predictable; priorities can be anticipated; some interruptions are present; involves occasional exposure to demands and pressure from persons other than immediate supervisor.
Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically, ability to distinguish colors.
Instructions for Applying:
Link to apply: http://explore.msujobs.msstate.edu/
Apply online by submitting a cover letter, resume, and a copy of your transcript(s). Any social security numbers included on requested transcripts should be redacted prior to submitting online.
Apply online at jobs.msstate.edu
Restricted Clause:
Position is contingent upon continued availability of funding.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination is prohibited in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status to the extent protected by applicable law. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Civil Rights Compliance, 231 Famous Maroon Band Street, P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (662) 325-5839.
What do I do if I need an accommodation?
In compliance with the ADA Amendments Act (ADA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position with Mississippi State University, please contact the Department of Human Resources Management at tel: (662) 325-3713 or ada@hrm.msstate.edu.
If you have any questions regarding this policy, contact the Department of Human Resources Management at (662) 325-3713 or ada@hrm.msstate.edu. Upon request, sections of this job listing are available in large print, and readers are available to assist the visually impaired.
