As the amount of genomic information provided by modern sequencing technology increases rapidly, the ability to navigate, analyze, visualize, and interpret large volumes of data is crucial for today’s evolutionary biologists. The labs of Nancy Moran and Howard Ochman are offering a remote learning and research experience, where interested students will be given the opportunity to learn the ropes of computational biology and bioinformatics, with a focus on the evolutionary analysis of insect, bacterial and viral genomes. This group consists of a small number of students meeting once a week under the supervision of experienced biologist mentors from the Moran and Ochman labs.
Students will be introduced to a variety of topics
- Basics of computing: Unix command line, simple scripting and programming
- Navigating sequence databases
- Download, assembly and annotation of (meta)genomic datasets
- Homology searches, sequence alignment and phylogenetics
- Data visualization using R
After acquiring a basic computational skillset, students will eventually conduct their own supervised research projects, with the possibility of eventually transitioning to a paid position in Spring 2021.
For full consideration please send the following to kim.hammond@utexas.edu by September 4, 2020 (but late applicants might still be accepted):
• resume
• schedule of availability
• name/contact for two references
• brief summary of why you are interested in the position
• relevant STEM courses (past and current) & total GPA
Preference for biology or biochemistry students of sophomore or junior class standing with interests in genetics, microbiology and evolutionary biology. The most important requirement is a strong curiosity about biology and motivation to learn independently. No computational biology or laboratory experience is required as this group is operated remotely. Students should have access to a computer/laptop with internet access, either at home or university. Positions start on September 8, 2020. Students are expected to work remotely with peers and mentors for 8 hours a week including 1 hour of weekly meeting.
Positions start on September 8, 2020. Students are expected to work remotely with peers and mentors for 8 hours a week including 1 hour of weekly meeting
