The Sloan Lab at Colorado State University is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with experience in plant molecular genetics and/or biochemistry to investigate the mechanisms responsible for extreme variation in mutation rates and genome stability in plant mitochondria and plastids. These plant organelles maintain exceptionally low point mutation rates, while exhibiting rapid rates of rearrangements and structural evolution.
Our ongoing collaborative project seeks to understand the mechanistic basis of these unusual genome properties. This project fits into the broader focus of our research, which is on the evolution of organelle genomes and their coevolution with the nucleus.
We seek someone who is excited about addressing evolutionary questions at the molecular level and wants to contribute to a positive and collaborative intellectual environment. Start date is flexible but preferably in summer or fall 2023.
Applicants should have expertise in plant biology and one or more of the following areas:
• Genetics, transformation, and genome editing
• Mechanisms of mutation and DNA damage/repair
• Protein and nucleic acid biochemistry
• Mitochondrial and chloroplast biology
• Library construction for next-generation sequencing
• Comparative genomics and bioinformatics
Our lab is in the Department of Biology at Colorado State University, which is housed in a state-of-the-art research facility that opened in 2017. The department includes numerous labs in the fields of both plant molecular biology and evolutionary biology, so there are ample opportunities for collaboration outside the lab group. The university is in Fort Collins, Colorado, which routinely ranks among the top locations in the country in terms of overall quality of life.
To apply: Interested researchers should e-mail Dan Sloan (dan.sloan@colostate.edu) and include a CV, along with a brief statement of research/career goals and how they pertain to the position. Review will begin June 23, 2023, but inquiries are still very much encouraged after that date.
More information about our research projects and publications is available at our lab website: https://sites.google.com/site/danielbsloan/