Researcher in Metabarcoding

Are you interested in working with environmental DNA and metabarcoding research, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for the position as researcher at Uppsala University.

The position is based at the Department of Organismal Biology (www.iob.uu.se), at the Evolutionary Biology Centre of Uppsala University. The successful candidate will join the Biodiversity Data Lab (http://biodiversity.se), led by Tobias Andermann.

At the Biodiversity Data Lab, we work at the intersection of computational biology and biodiversity research. Our group focuses on developing new computational methods and fieldwork/labwork workflows to quantify biodiversity complexity, primarily in terrestrial systems. We envision a future where biodiversity at a given site can be measured in a standardized and reproducible way.

We are a young and dynamic team driven by the mission to help alleviate the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Our work environment is characterized by a non-hierarchical and collegial atmosphere, valuing innovative ideas and high-impact research. As a team, we are committed to fostering a supportive and engaging workplace, where every member enjoys their work and has opportunities for growth.

Duties
As a researcher you will lead a project exploring the hidden diversity and ecology of unicellular eukaryotic parasites and symbionts associated with insects. The work involves:

• Long-read metabarcoding of homogenized insect bulk samples.
• Developing a taxonomically focused metabarcoding approach that excludes insect DNA while targeting specific protist groups.
• Processing metabarcoding datasets using our internal bioinformatics pipeline.
• Extracting geographic data (presence/absence) from species/ASV sequences.
• Inferring phylogenies of insect-associated microbial eukaryotes.
• Conducting spatial modeling of distribution maps and diversity heatmaps using both conventional statistical tools and custom-built neural network methods, in collaboration with our spatial modeling team.

You will lead the project and be the first author on resulting publications. The position includes access to expertise in metabarcoding, bioinformatics support via NBIS, and collaboration with domain specialists in spatial modeling and computational biology.

Requirements

• A PhD degree in biology or a foreign equivalent (must be obtained by the time of employment decision).
• Experience working with metabarcoding data, especially from environmental samples.
• Proficiency in molecular lab work, phylogenetics, and bioinformatics.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal suitability such as ability to independently and taking initiative to explore new ideas. We also need you to have good collaboration skills.

Additional qualifications

• Previous experience with unicellular eukaryotic diversity and long-read metabarcoding is an advantage.
• Basic knowledge of computing on clusters and familiarity with core bioinformatic tools.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position, 12 months. Scope of employment is 100%. Starting date 2025-10-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala

For further information about the position, please contact: Tobias Andermann, +46701679316, tobias.andermann@ebc.uu.se

Please submit your application by 3th June 2025, UFV-PA 2025/1619.

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