Scholarship: Fully funded
Degree: B.S./M.S./Ph.D
Nationality: International Students
Location: USA
Application deadlines: September 2023
Scholarship Description:
Research Interests: Yaping Liu’s group at the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago (https://epifluidlab. github.io/) seeks postdoctoral fellows and technicians in bioinformatics and epigenetic genomics (both dry/wet labs). The group is currently supported by several long-term NIH grants and various foundations (e.g. Gates Foundation and Sony Research Foundation) and has three main research areas: 1. Developing bioinformatics methods for data mining fragmentomics of circulating in vitro DNA (cell-free DNA) to predict multiple epigenomic information in cells 2. Developing new high-throughput multi-omics methods to simultaneously measure multiple dimensions of genetic and epigenomic information on the same single cell or molecule. 3. （3. Deep learning and other machine learning methods are used to mine fragmentomics and epigenomics information from circulating in vitro DNA (cell-free DNA) for early diagnosis and prognosis tracking of cancer and other complex diseases.
Dr Yaping Liu received his bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Nanjing University in 2008, his Ph.D. from the Epigenetics Center of the USC School of Medicine under Dr Benjamin P. Berman in 2014, and completed his postdoctoral training in computational biology in the lab of Dr Manolis Kellis at MIT and the Broad Institute in late 2017. He will join the Department of Human Genetics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2019. In September 2023, he will move to Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago as a tenure-track assistant professor to conduct independent research. The Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
Available Subjects:
- Bioinformatics and epigenetic genomics
Eligibility criteria:
- PhD in computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics or related computational fields
- Proficiency in at least one scripting language (R/Python/Perl) and familiarity with basic Linux system operation
- Strong background in statistical/machine learning or computational genomics and familiarity with data analysis for large-scale second-generation sequencing (WGS, WGBS, Hi-C, ATAC-seq, RNA-seq or ChIP-seq, etc.). At least one published or accepted first or co-authored SCI article in English
- Passion for scientific research and the ability to think through problems and conduct research relatively independently
- Fluency in written and spoken English
- PhD in molecular biology and biomedical related experimental fields or to be obtained
- Strong scientific training in one or more of the following areas: epigenetics/epigenomics, human genetics/genomics or liquid biopsy related areas
- Knowledge of basic molecular biology experiments (PCR, qPCR, mammalian cell culture, etc.) and library construction by second-generation sequencing (WGS, WGBS, Hi-C, ATAC-seq, RNA-seq or ChIP-seq, etc.). At least one published or accepted SCI article in English as first or co-author
- Passion for scientific research and the ability to think through problems and conduct research relatively independently
- Fluency in written and spoken English
Application Procedure:
- Postdoctoral salaries will be based on NIH postdoctoral rates and additional Northwestern University School of Medicine benefit rates (e.g., health insurance, etc., see https://hr.northwestern.edu/benefits/postdoc-benefits.html for details).
- Technicians will be paid at the Northwestern University School of Medicine salary rate.
- Postdocs and technicians should send their applications, CVs, and contact information for 2-3 references to Yaping Liu at lyping1986@gmail.com.
- Anyone interested in applying for a full-award PhD is also welcome to get in touch.