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Position: BRIDGES PROGRAM
Position Type: Full-Time
Pay Rate: $16/Hr
Program Date: August 20, 2024 - May 30, 2025, with the option to extend through July 25, 2025
This program is federally-funded and as such has federal-mandated specific requirements to qualify for participation.
INSTITUTE OVERVIEW
The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (www.hudsonalpha.org) is a non-profit organization with the mission to use biotechnology and basic biological research to make important discoveries, improve human health, stimulate economic development, inspire young people to seek careers in science and teach members of the public the importance of science in their everyday lives. Located in Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Alabama, one of the world's leading science and technology parks, HudsonAlpha's campus contains state-of-the-art laboratories for biological research and development, as well as education, in the areas of genomics, genetics and personalized medicine.
BRIDGES PROGRAM
The HudsonAlpha BRIDGES program is supported by the National Science Foundation EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Bridging EPSCoR Communities Award # 2225832. The program offers year-long, full-time paid fellowship opportunities for recent graduates of minority-serving institutions.
BRIDGES fellows at HudsonAlpha will commit to working 40 hours per week during their participation in the program. During this time, fellows will be trained in relevant laboratory skills, gain knowledge about genetics and genomics, and receive professional development meant to support a student as they plan for their future scientific careers.
This program is federally-funded and as such has federal-mandated specific requirements to qualify for participation.
POSITION SUMMARY:
Fellows will gain valuable experience working in a research lab and contributing to scientific endeavors. They will perform routine laboratory tasks, learn specialized skills like molecular biology, bioinformatics, and cell culture, and participate in scientific discussions. All students will begin their fellowship with a two-week biology boot camp to launch them into their positions. Throughout the program, fellows will also participate in professional development opportunities to help build connections in and beyond HudsonAlpha that will facilitate their future success in a STEM career. Examples might include opportunities to meet directors of graduate programs in the southeast, opportunities to interact with business leaders from HudsonAlpha's resident biotech companies, or workshops on writing a resume or a personal statement to apply for a job or graduate school. Fellows will present their research through an oral or poster presentation.
FEDERALLY MANDATED ELIGIBILITY
Application Requirements:
You will need to upload the following four (4) documents in the "Resume" of your application section:
Fellowships Available: (Please choose three)
Cochran Lab Fellow:
Description: The Cochran lab is focused on how genetic variation and genomic regulatory elements impact genome function. We ultimately want to establish better methods to quickly classify the effects of non-coding genetic variants. We have a variety of projects focused on particular genes, genomic regulatory element function across diverse species, etc. We employ both computational and wet lab approaches.
Experience or Skills: A desire to learn about functional and/or computational genomics. Some laboratory and/or computational experience is desirable but not required.
Sara Cooper Lab Fellow:
Description: The Sara Cooper Lab at HudsonAlpha applies genomics to understanding important biological problems. This fellowship will support research using a combination of genomic assays to understand how genetic perturbation impacts the function of the immune system. Fellows in our laboratory will gain experience in human cell culture, molecular biology, and cell biology through an independent project aimed at determining how signaling between cells impacts the immune response. Fellows will collaborate with other members of the lab to design experiments, generate genomic data and analyze the results.
Experience or Skills: Majors in biology with coursework related to cell biology, molecular biology, and chemistry are encouraged to apply. Experience or coursework in statistics and/or computer science is also useful but not required. The successful candidate will be independent, curious, and have good communication skills.
Clevenger Lab Fellow:
Description: Depending on interest, there are multiple options for projects related to molecular breeding for the genetic improvement of peanuts. One option is to work directly on molecular marker-assisted backcross breeding to combine high yield with high fungal resistance with the goal of reducing fungicide use on the farm. This would require making crosses in grow rooms, genotyping hybrid seeds, and selecting the best progeny for the next generation. Another option is to work on developing our automated drought tolerance screen using raspberry pi cameras. This option would require half computation and half grow room work. The third option would be completely computational analyzing genomic data for the development of functional targets for marker-assisted selection. This option would not require prior computational skills; however, more could be accomplished with some prior experience.
Experience or Skills: Enthusiasm and curiosity. Experience with the command line (Linux) and/or basic lab skills would help but is not required.
Genome Sequencing Center Fellow:
Description: The Genome Sequencing Center (GSC) is a global leader in plant genomics. The fellow will work directly with our team of bioinformaticians and evolutionary biologists to explore the genomic diversity of organisms relevant to the Department of Energy (DOE), including bioenergy species. Possible projects include genome assembly, next-generation sequence analysis, and multi-genome comparisons. Main responsibilities will include working closely with informaticists & scientists as they design/implement computational tools for use at the GSC.
Experience or Skills: Most importantly, the fellow must be enthusiastic and motivated to contribute to plant genomics research. Experience with programming/scripting languages (Python, Perl, C , R, pipeline managers, etc.) and Mac/Linux/Unix-based systems is also crucial. Basic knowledge of bioinformatics/computer science and genetics/evolution is not required but will be helpful.
Swaminathan Lab Fellow:
Description: The Swaminathan lab uses functional genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to understand traits/phenotypes of importance for sustainable energy production. The fellow will be exposed to techniques in molecular biology, genotyping, phenotyping, plant tissue culture, and biotechnology. We expect the student to be diligent, highly motivated, and interested in careers in plant biology and crop functional genomics.
Experience or Skills: Interest in plant biology, biotechnology, and agricultural genomics is essential, but no prior experience in the field is required. It is important that the fellow is meticulous in note-taking, capable of working independently, and is an excellent team player.
Harkess Lab Fellow:
Description: The Harkess Lab uses comparative genomics to study the molecular basis of sex determination in plants. We are seeking an enthusiastic fellow who is interested broadly in plant biology and genomics and will focus on a project related to how plants have repeatedly evolved sex chromosomes and separate male and female sexes. Under the mentorship of postdoctoral fellows in the laboratory, the fellow will take ownership of generating and analyzing genome-scale data for plant species with a sex chromosome pair. The fellow with develop skills ranging from greenhouse techniques and plant growth, molecular genetics, non-model plant genome sequencing, and computational genomics.
Experience or Skills: The most important skills are enthusiasm, independence, and the desire to learn new techniques in diverse plant species. Prior laboratory or computational experience with plants is not necessary but helpful.
Myers Lab Fellow:
Description: Fellows will be immersed in a leading genomics laboratory, working on a variety of projects relating to the fundamentals of human transcriptional regulation. The Myers lab uses genomic approaches to better understand and classify human genomic regulatory elements in the context of both basic biology and primarily neurodegenerative disease-specific hypotheses. Fellows can expect to learn a variety of techniques, both on the lab bench and computational, related to using genomics and genetics to study human biology, including molecular cloning, neuronal cell culture, and sequencing-based assays.
Experience or Skills: The most important requirement is a motivated individual who will take advantage of the opportunity. While the student does not have to be certain that he/she wants to go to graduate school to become a scientist, we are definitely interested in individuals who are considering science or medicine as a career, whether at the research assistant level or with doctoral ambitions.
Footnotes:
(1) EPSCoR jurisdiction states are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming.
(2) Underrepresented population in STEM - The following groups have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in STEM: women, persons with disabilities, and minorities from three racial and ethnic groups: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
(3) Disadvantaged population - Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, defined as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:
Physical Demands/Environmental Factors/Mental Functions
ADA Requirements - The physical demands, work environment factors, and mental functions described below are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential function of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Disclaimer - All job requirements are subject to possible revision to reflect changes in the position requirements or to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a threat or risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties whichthat will be required in this position. Employees will be required to follow other job-related duties as requested by their supervisor/manager (within guidelines and compliance with Federal and State Laws). Continued employment remains on an "at-will" basis.
Physical Demands
Environmental Factors
Mental Functions
It is the policy of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, in accordance with all applicable laws, to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
Full Time
$77k-97k (estimate)
05/12/2023
06/15/2024
hudsonalpha.org
Huntsville, AL
500 - 1,000