There is currently no higher priority for our group right now than recruiting 2-3 new postdoctoral associates to join the lab. We are lucky enough to have very stable funding over the next few years, so these are already-funded positions waiting to be filled ASAP. I have posted two “traditional” job ads here and here, but these are meant to give a flavor of the type of person we are looking for rather than describing the exact person we need.
My criteria for evaluating applicants are pretty simple:
- Awesomeness: We like working with successful people, so make sure your CV reflects your greatest accomplishments. I have a pretty broad definition of success, from awesome publications, to great software packages, to simply great science.
- Matching interests: Read our lab website to get an idea of what we do. In addition, here are some keywords that often come up: bioinformatics, crowdsourcing, integrative biology, pathways, N-of-1 genomics, proteomics, microbiome, software development, semantic web, text mining, pathway analysis, serious gaming. Please highlight your specific interests in your cover letter! (Form letter applications typically get form letter responses…)
The third hidden criterion is based on complementary skills. I need to make sure that each new person brings something unique to our lab and that in aggregate we can complete all of our projects. But this is the hardest for you as an applicant to evaluate, so don’t worry about it. If you hit the two points above, please apply!
I’m primarily interested in postdoc applicants, but if someone is an obvious and perfect long-term match for our group then I’ll also consider an appointment as staff scientist.
If you’re interested, please get in touch! Just email me your CV and cover letter…
EDIT 20140203: You may see from our lab research page that the lab is roughly evenly divided between tools/infrastructure projects (with particular emphasis on crowdsourcing) and on biomedical discovery projects. We have openings in both areas. So whether your core skill set is in programming/informatics or in biology, we have likely have a project for you!
EDIT 20140324: Let me emphasize how important a good cover letter is to me. I read them very carefully, sometimes even more so than the CV. Convincing me that you’re a great fit for my lab is more important than “traditional” metrics of success (glamour mag pubs, awards, etc.)