A 14 months post-doctoral position is available at the UBLO lab (INRA, Jouy en Josas, France) in the context of the ANR "Cocogen" project.
The general objectives of the project are to develop new algorithmic and statistical methods to compare bacterial genomes and to apply the comparison results to the understanding of the mechanisms shaping bacterial genomes evolution.
The post-doctoral position will be held in the "bacterial genome architecture" group (https://www.jouy.inra.fr/ublo/equipes_et_themes/architecture_des_genomes_bacteriens) on the following topic:
"Prediction of short motifs involved in essential cellular processes on bacterial genomes"
The group focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial genome evolution at a short evolutionary scale. The successful candidate will participate in developping a predictive framework for identification of short DNA motifs involved in genome organization. These motifs are enriched on the species backbone i.e. on the regions conserved between several strains of the same species. Based on the analysis of known motifs, specific prediction criteria will be defined and a combination of bioinformatic and statistical tools will be used to predict new motifs. Applicants should have a PhD in Microbiology or Bioinformatics. The candidate should have a good background in molecular biology and microbiology and be strongly motivated in learning bioinformatics or alternatively a good background in bioinformatics and strong motivation to learn microbiology. Expericence with scripting (Perl) a plus.
The ability to work autonomously in an interdisciplinary project will be essential.
starting date : June-July 2008

To apply, please email a CV, list of publications and addresses of at least two referees to :
Dr Meriem El Karoui
meriem [at] el_karoui [dot] jouy [dot] inra [dot] fr
Unité des Bactéries Lactiques et pathogènes Opportunistes
Equipe : Architecture des génomes bactériens
INRA Domaine de Vilvert
78352 Jouy-en Josas cedex
tel 00-33-1-34-65-28-67
fax 00-33-1-34-65-20-65