Postdoctoral Position in Anatomical Networks, Evo-Devo and Macroevolution

A Postdoctoral researcher is sought to join the Rui Diogo lab (www.ruidiogolab.com), at the Howard University College of Medicine, Department of Anatomy (Washington DC). For more details on the research done at the lab, and the papers/chapters/books published in recent years, see also:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rui_Diogo
Diogo’s books: http://www.amazon.com/Rui-Diogo/e/B001JS2K96

We are interested in a candidate that will have the ability to combine two or more – and ideally all four – items; there is a strong competition, so please make sure you have the necessary skills and interest and drive for this position:

1) contribute to uncover evolutionary and developmental mechanisms underlying both hard tissue (cartilages and bones) and soft tissue (mainly muscles) formation and patterning during ontogeny of a wide range of vertebrate taxa. Some of the issues and broader questions in which we are particularly interested include: the parallelism between ontogeny and phylogeny, the remarkable similarity between the hard and particularly the soft tissues of the upper and lower limbs of tetrapods, the importance of evolutionary reversions/neotenic events, the study of birth defects in human and non-human primates and their implications for medicine and for the understanding of evolutionary biology, and the regeneration of hard and soft tissues in key vertebrate taxa. For more information about these subjects and about other issues being studied in the lab, please see www.ruidiogolab.com.

2) you should have good writing skills, and a profound interest in reading, as you will be expected to lead, and help write, review papers and probably books/book chapters on the broader macroevolutionary topics covered above. In turn, by doing this you can relatively rapidly get a substantial experience in publishing in top journals and monographs.

3) you will also help build and maintain a website, so you need to have and be able to show previous skills on website design, managing, maintenance.

4) you will be mainly involved in learning, the framework of anatomical networks, and helping in anatomical network analysis, which relate directly to broader discussions on evolvability, complexity, modularity and integration

In summary, this will be a highly demanding – and expected to be a highly-demanded – position, in a very productive lab, in which there is a relatively high independence, where the drive of the postdoc is essential to make her/him more productive, taking advantage of the broader scope and numerous collaborations of the lab.

There are funds available for one year, starting fall (September) 2016, with the hypothesis of extending the position for two years, in case of excellent results and fit within the lab, i.e. the second contract depending on the productivity, interest and dedication of the candidate. There are possibilities to continue being part of the lab after the two-year period of the post-doc position. The post-doc will also have the opportunity to learn, and potentially to then become an instructor/faculty of human gross anatomy; this will further allow him/her to also postulate for faculty positions in medical schools in the DC area (including Howard University) as well as in other regions.

Interested candidates should send a CV including research interests, a list of publications and the names and contact information for three references to Rui Diogo, at rui.diogo@howard.edu. Please write “post-doc in Diogo’s lab” followed by your last name in the email subject.

Howard University is a historical University situated in the center of Washington DC, which is a beautiful, green and enjoyable city with numerous cultural and outdoor activities. The Department of Anatomy provides a prosperous, resourceful and multidisciplinary environment for biomedical research, includes faculty with a broad experience in developmental biology, paleontology, neurobiology, comparative anatomy and medicine. We have strong ties with surrounding institutions, particularly with George Washington University, and the candidate will probably have the opportunity to do part of his/her research at those institutions and thus to expand his/her knowledge and academic connections.

Qualifications/Experience:
The successful candidate will have a PhD degree with a broad experience in developmental biology (e.g., doing/using developmental techniques such as antibody staining, in situs, and cell tracing, among others) and/or evolutionary biology, and hopefully both, backed by publications in peer-reviewed journals, and also some experience in comparative anatomy. He/She will have the skills and motivation to pursue a career in research, be interested in studying and comparing a wide range of taxa and various model organisms and in discussing various evolutionary and developmental issues, and be able to fulfill at least some, and ideally all four, items listed above.

Contact Information:
Rui Diogo
USA

E-mail Address:
rui.diogo@howard.edu

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