The Linksvayer Lab in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University in collaboration with Arjuna Rajakumar (McGill University) is seeking a postdoctoral researcher for a new four-year funded NSF project: Evolutionary developmental systems genetics of obligate sterility in ants. This project is funded through the US NSF Enabling Discovery through GEnomic Tools (EDGE) – COMPLEX MULTIGENIC TRAITS TRACK and seeks to understand the developmental genetics and comparative genomics of an exciting and tractable complex phenotype: obligate sterility in ants (see https://www.nsf.gov/
The evolution of eusociality is a major evolutionary transition, where once solitary organisms become developmentally integrated and live in colonies. Eusociality is characterized by a reproductive division of labor between queen and worker castes. In most species, the worker caste has reproductive organs and can reproduce under certain circumstances, while in some species, workers are obligately sterile. Such obligate sterility, where the worker caste loses its ovaries early in development, has evolved 14 times independently in ants. Our project seeks to understand how obligate sterility evolved using an integrative evo-devo approach that combines developmental genetics, comparative transcriptomics, comparative genomics, and functional genomics.
We are especially looking for candidates with previous experience in developmental biology and with molecular techniques (e.g., cloning, in situ/immuno, RNAi/CRISPR). Knowledge of insect development and advanced knowledge of microscopy are assets.
The start date is very flexible but could be as early as February 1, 2022.
Salary will be commensurate with experience, with the NIH NRSA postdoc stipends as a starting guideline (e.g., $53,760 for 0 years of postdoctoral experience, see https://grants.nih.gov/grants/
Please apply directly at: https://sjobs.brassring.com/