The Selmecki lab is looking for a professional researcher with substantial yeast genetics and molecular biology expertise to join this international team studying the effects of polyploidy on cell physiology and evolution. The experienced researcher will run an independent research project and help lead a team of undergraduate/postgraduate researchers. Candidates should be able to manipulate and engineer yeast, using classical yeast genetics and modern CRISPR-cas9 techniques. Preference will be given to candidates with experience utilizing large yeast collections (e.g. deletion library) and performing high throughput phenotyping. 

Research Overview
Polyploidy, or the presence of three or more sets of chromosomes within a cell, is a widespread feature of genomes, cells, and organisms. Polyploidy was discovered over 100 years ago, but our understanding remains limited, even though nearly all agricultural crops are polyploid, many human organs (for example, liver, heart, and placenta) are polyploid, and at least one-third of all cancers are polyploid.  A common theme is that polyploidy is often associated with stress, but few other generalities have emerged, in part because, researchers across diverse fieldsâ”from cell biology to genomics, agriculture, cancer, and ecologyâ”rarely interact. Through the efforts of Professor Anna Selmecki in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine, the University of Minnesota is now partnered with distinguished researchers from diverse areas of expertise across the United States and Europe to test the central hypothesis that there are underlying rules to polyploidy that act across levels of biological organization and organismal systems. Through support from the National Science Foundation, these researchers have established the Polyploidy Integration and Innovation Institute (https://www.pi3biology.org/), which is a first of its kind effort to integrate the work of researchers from across disciplines to understand the mechanisms and impact of polyploidy on agriculture, biodiversity, and human health.

Job Duties and Responsibilities:
Typical tasks (These examples do not include all possible tasks in this work and do not limit the assignment of related tasks.)

90% Research and data analysis: 
Individual will design and conduct complex, multi-step laboratory procedures to engineer, manipulate, and phenotype yeast cells. They will perform molecular, genetic, and microbiology techniques and will be expected to select and adapt methods to meet specific research needs and to assist in development of new techniques. 

The candidate will employ a wide variety of experimental techniques including but not limited to CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering, yeast mating and selection, yeast transformation, flow cytometry, DNA and RNA extractions, primer design and PCR, gel electrophoresis, Southern and/or Western blot analyses.

The researcher will maintain a detailed notebook, tabulate and graph data, and independently interpret results.

The researcher will be expected to read relevant scientific literature as suggested by the investigation and to identify relevant facts, techniques, and procedures from the primary literature.

The candidate will be expected to contribute to manuscript writing, generate figures, tables, and results related to their research, and write up the methods section and main results/findings related to their research.

10% Laboratory Coordination: The candidate will be involved in the operational leadership and maintenance of the laboratory. Tasks include developing and implementing protocols, data management, curation, and analysis, ensuring lab safety, overseeing ordering, and assistance in the preparation of data for manuscripts and grants.

The candidate will work closely with other laboratory personnel to coordinate work schedules for execution of complex laboratory studies.

Required Qualifications (must be documented on application materials):
⢠BS in Biology, Chemistry, or related Biomedical Sciences 
⢠At least 4 years of relevant research experience, or a combination of education and experience to equal at least 8 years. 
⢠Significant research experience with yeast genetics and cell biology.
⢠Previous experience working in a microbiology laboratory.

Preferred Qualifications:
⢠Previous experience with some â˜omics bench research (transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics or lipidomics).
⢠Experience with bioinformatics or R is strongly preferred.
⢠Eagerness to learn
⢠Strong written and oral communication skills
⢠Previous experience with manuscript preparation

About University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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