A PhD Position in Quantitative Genetics at the University of Hawaii

HankCCUID: 3579924

Graduate research assistantships are available in population genetics, computational genetics and genomics in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  

The successful candidate will work in an interdisciplinary research group collaborated with experts in nutritional metabolism, biochemistry, and medicine fields and will have access to large Genomic and Epigenomic Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) datasets and high-density genotypes and phenotypes data in animal populations. The candidate will be involved in NGS data analysis, high-density genotyping, and statistical genomics analyses.

Potential projects include, but are not limited to, the following:

1) applying Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) and Genomic Selection (GS) to improve economic production and reproduction traits in Hawaii beef cattle populations

2) analyzing high-dimensional NGS and microarray data using machine learning and statistical methods to explore underlying regulatory networks, aiming to pinpoint causal (epi-)genetic marks controlling the phenotypic changes utilizing CRISPR-based technologies.

Candidates should have a BS and/or MS degree in Animal Science, Genetics, Statistics, Mathematics or Computer Science, with a background and interest in Quantitative Genetics and/or Bioinformatics. Experience in the analysis of GWAS and/or NGS data is preferred. Skills in Perl, R or Python are advantages.

Please submit a letter of interest (outlining your suitability, what you hope to achieve from the MS/Ph.D. and your research experience to date), CV, and contact information for two references to Dr. Yanghua He <yanghua2@hawaii.edu>. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Informal inquiries are also welcome.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is located in Honolulu, the Capital of Hawaii State. It is a destination of choice for students and faculty from across the nation and the world. UH Mānoa offers unique research opportunities, a diverse community, a nationally-ranked Division I athletics program and much more. The University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution and is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender identity and expression, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, genetic information, marital status, breastfeeding, income assignment for child support, arrest and court record (except as permissible under State law), sexual orientation, domestic or sexual violence victim status, national guard absence, or status as a covered veteran. Details about the application process can be found at https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hnfas/Academics/Animal-Sciences-MS and https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/mbbe/Graduate.