Over 15 fully funded PhD studentships in Quantitative Biology
Introduction
The advent of large-throughput data is transforming life sciences into an increasingly quantitative discipline. The University of Lausanne (Switzerland) is at the forefront of this revolution, with quantitative research ramping up throughout the Faculty of Biology and Medicine, a dedicated department of Computational Biology, and interdisciplinary units such as the Center for Integrative Genomics. UNIL also hosts the headquarters of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, to which many quantitative research groups are affiliated, and closely collaborates with EPFL on the same campus. Ideally situated along the lake of Geneva, near Lausanne's city center, UNIL brings together over 120 nationalities.
UNIL's Faculty of Biology and Medicine has recently launched a doctoral program entitled "Quantitative Biology". A wide range of research groups are recruiting PhD students, covering areas as diverse as Genetics, Cell biology, Metabolism, Computational biology, Oncology, Evolution, Microbiology, Imaging, Molecular biology, Neuroscience, Gene regulation, Radiobiology, and Plant science.
In 2020, hiring principal investigators include Francesca Amati, Roman Arguello, Richard Benton, Sven Bergmann, Giovanni Ciriello , Christian Fankhauser, David Gfeller, Gilbert Greub , Laurent Keller, Isabel Lopez-Mejia, Sophie Martin, Sara Mitri, Micah Murray, Alexandre Reymond, Marc Robinson-Rechavi, Tanja Schwander, Jan-Willem Veening , Aleksandar Vještica, and Marie-Catherine Vozenin
Job information
- Expected start date: 01.03.2021 or to be agreed
- Contract length: The initial contract is for one year and is extendable to a total of 4-5 years.
- Activity rate: 80-100%
- Workplace: University of Lausanne, Dorigny
Your qualifications
We are accepting applications from talented and enthusiastic candidates who are interested in a dynamic, well-supported lab at a top research institution. Candidates need to finish a Master’s degree in a relevant area before the start date of their doctoral studies.
We are looking for three main types of PhD students:
- Students with a life science degree, interested in working in an experimental lab, but with a high degree of motivation to learn the fundamentals of computational biology, and to develop quantitative skills to analyze data more effectively
- Students with a life science degree interested in working in a dry computational lab, keen to deepen their quantitative skills and broaden their horizon in terms of experimental and computational techniques
- Students with a non-biological background (e.g. computer science, maths, physics), who are highly motivated to transition to Life Sciences
A high level of written and spoken English proficiency is required since most scientific activities are conducted in English.
What the position offers you
You will develop your research project while working in a world-class, interdisciplinary and highly collaborative environment.
The PhD program in Quantitative Biology provides opportunities for professional training and acquisition of highly transferable skills. This is complemented by a wide range of activities (retreats, symposia, student life).
The position is fully funded. Salary and benefits are internationally highly competitive. Additional funding for consumables, computing, and to attend international conferences is available.
Informal inquiries: Prof. Christophe Dessimoz, Director of the UNIL Doctoral Program in Quantitative Biology program christophe.dessimoz@unil.ch
Deadline: 16.10.2020
Link to application forms and FAQ: https://www.unil.ch/quantitative-biology/home/menuinst/join-the-qb-program/joint-phd-2020.html
Hi Sir can the Master's Degree requirement be relaxed if the individual has job experience in genomics from a premier institute of national importance in his/her country?
I am afraid the answer is in almost all circumstances no. There is a possibility for truly outstanding candidates, but this requires making a case at a special University-wide panel, and the procedure is pretty heavy and lengthy, so this almost never happens.