The Grubaugh Lab will be debuting at the Yale School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases in July, 2018, to study arbovirus emergence, transmission, and evolution. This was an ideal setting for the lab because of its rich history of studying arthropod-borne diseases, excellent facilities, and great network of collaborators. I am seeking 1-2 postdocs to join me between July and October, 2018, so that we can get rolling on many exciting projects.

The foremost priority is for someone interested in investigating potential Zika virus genetic factors associated with congenital Zika syndrome, vertical transmission, and vector competence. We have identified several amino acid changes that the virus acquired during the epidemic in the Americas and we will engineer them into a cDNA clone to test fitness. We are also obtaining additional clinical samples and epidemiological data to look for Zika virus variants associated with congenital disease outcome.

Other potential projects include:

• exploring the possible emergence of Mayaro virus and others from South America
• using experimental evolution to discover the drivers of virus adaptation
• understanding the long-term maintenance of West Nile virus in North America
• investigating mosquito-borne virus outbreaks using genomic epidemiology

Prospective candidates should have experience in at least some of the following areas: next-generation sequencing, molecular biology (including cloning), cell culture, mosquito manipulation, mouse models, epidemiology, population biology, and phylogenetics. Strictly computational applicants with experience in Bayesian phylodynamics (BEAST/MrBayes) and R or Python are also encouraged to apply. We like to make things pretty, so experience with data visualization (ggplot2/Matplotlib/d3js) is a huge plus. Most importantly, candidates should be enthusiastic about mosquito-borne viruses, collaborative with people from diverse backgrounds, and motivated to impact public health through their research.

Please email me at nathan.grubaugh@yahoo.com for more details. Interested candidates should send 1) a cover letter explaining their fit within the Grubaugh Lab, 2) a CV, and 3) copies of up to three relevant publications (including pre-prints). Computational applicants should send a link to their github account (or some other code source). This posting will stay open until the positions are filled.