A two-year postdoctoral position, with an attractive salary, is available starting from january / february 2020 in the historical, cultural and university city of Caen, Normandy. The post-doc will be hosted in a young and dynamic team, in the Virology Department of the University Hospital of Caen, Normandy (hosting the National Reference Center & WHO Coll. Center for Measles, Rubella and Mumps viruses). (Prof. Astrid Vabret & Dr. Meriadeg Le Gouil - http://coronavirus.fr) and at GRAM 2.0 (Group for Research on the Adaptation of Microbes, EA2656 UNICAEN/UNIROUEN), University of Caen, Normandy ; (Pr. Simon Le Hello).

The position is part of a research project (Dynamic-H / RIN) funded by the region Normandy and European Commission (Feder).

Responsibilities: Leading and collaborating the research involved in the above-mentioned project under the supervision of Dr. Meriadeg Le Gouil (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Meriadeg_Ar_Gouilh). The project includes the implementation and analysis of short and long reads sequencing / transcriptomics / targeted and untargeted sequencing of respiratory samples originating from 2 pre-characterized and rare human collections (n = 2000). The main objectives is to decrypt the species composition and the expression profile of the microbiome associated with respiratory viruses (Coronaviruses, RSV, Rhinoviruses, Influenza, Parainfluenza, Metapneumoviruses, Adenovirus, Bocavirus ...) and to model the dynamics and expression of microbial communities. This will allow a better understanding of the microbial interactions and evolution of the healthy – sick continuum for patients infected (or not) by respiratory viruses and will enhance our knowledge of the biological landscape and evolution of viral infections.

Prerequisites for an application include :

1 - A doctoral degree in natural sciences (biology, chemistry, biochemistry, etc.), with above-average grades and an interest in independent scientific work.

2 - Strong abilities to team co-working, networking, collaboration and socializing.

3 – Preferably, strong knowledge and skills in : virology, mixed approach of high-throughput sequencing (short and long reads), analysis of NGS data (bioinformatics) and evolutionary analysis (phylogenetics) is desired. Scripting skills in bash, R and/or python would also be highly appreciated.

4 - We expect a very good command of English; French will be much appreciated.

For informal enquiries about the position, please get quickly in touch with :
Meriadeg Le Gouil (meriadeg.legouil@unicaen.fr / meriadeg.legouil@normandie-univ.fr) or
Astrid Vabret (vabret-a@chu-caen.fr).

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2020
more infos : https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/471068

Application documents (CV, 1 page research statement, Publications) should be sent by PDF to the above contacts, or by post to:

Dr. Meriadeg Le Gouil
GRAM 2.0
Service de Virologie, CHU de Caen
Avenue Georges Clémenceau
14000 Caen
FRANCE