Postdoctoral level position - Bioinformatics/ Computational biology - United States

The Shapiro Laboratory at Columbia University in New York City, working together with the NIH Vaccine Research Center (VRC), in Bethesda, MD, seeks a postdoctoral level researcher in computational biology and bioinformatics for a position starting on or about July 1, 2013. Work will involve analyses of high-throughput sequencing results of the antibodies produced HIV infected patients. The goal is to understand the maturation of these antibodies from their genomically-encoded precursors in order to inform rational vaccine development. (See for example Science, 333, 1593, 2011; Front Microbiol. 3, 315, 2012).

Funding for two years is guaranteed, and may be extended for up to five years by extramural support. We are looking for creative, self-motivated individuals who are interested in applying computational tools to challenging problems associated with the design of vaccines. The individual should be well-organized as keeping track of numerous large sequence data sets will be required.

Applicants who meet the following requirements will be considered for the positions:


A Ph.D. degree in bioinformatics / computational biology / computational chemistry or a closely related field

•        Proficiency in at least one programming language and script writing in Perl or Python
•        Excellent oral and written communication skills
•        Clear sense of organization, purpose and accountability
•        Experience with or knowledge of antibodies is desirable, but not required

To apply

 Interested applicants should send a current CV and three letters of reference to Prof. Lawrence Shapiro (email: LSS8@columbia.edu).

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