Assistant Specialist, Vazquez lab
Company: University of California - Davis
Location: Davis
Posted on: September 3, 2024
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Job Description:
Position overview
Salary range:
The hourly salary range for this position is $29.36 - $32.72
Application Window
Open date: August 30, 2024
Next review date: Monday, Sep 16, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific
Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the
committee.
Final date: Friday, Nov 8, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but
those received after the review date will only be considered if the
position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the UC
Davis College of Biological Sciences is seeking a part-time
Assistant Specialist. The purpose of this position is to provide
research assistance in mathematical molecular biology to Dr. Mariel
Vazquez. This recruitment is conducted at the assistant rank. The
purpose of this position is to contribute to the areas of ongoing
research in topological molecular biology in the Arsuaga-Vazquez
lab, under the supervision of Professor Mariel Vazquez. The
resulting hire will be at the assistant rank, regardless of the
proposed appointee's qualifications.
This Specialist position has a narrow focus in a specialized area
and provides technical or specialized expertise with mathematical
and computational biology research methods in the planning and
execution of research projects investigating the structure of
nucleic acids. This position requires excellent programming skills
and previous experience working in projects in mathematical.
molecular biology. The Specialist must be able to work effectively
independently as well as a team member. The Specialist stays
apprised of emerging issues and problems and maintains technical
competence in the designated area(s) of specialization. Within this
defined area and when appropriate, the Specialist is expected to
provide leadership, facilitate teamwork and develop collaborative
relationships with colleagues and to supply input into the planning
of research and educational programs. Normally, Specialists do not
have Principal Investigator (PI) status but may obtain permission
by exception and/or collaborate with a PI in preparing research
proposals for extramural funding. The Specialist is evaluated for
merit and promotion using three basic criteria outlined below.
RESEARCH IN SPECIALIZED AREAS (85%)
Under the supervision of Dr Vazquez, the group leader, the
candidate will conduct work that relies on existing mathematical
models based on computational linguistics (specifically formal
grammars), knot theory and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods and
their computer implementations used to model biological processes
such as R-loop formation and DNA packing. The position will involve
designing, implementing, extending and utilizing algorithms
described in the literature as well as those currently internal to
the research lab. In addition, they are expected to document and
present their work to our research group. The candidate will also
have the opportunity to present their work at regional meetings in
poster form and will assist with manuscript and grant preparation.
This entails a broad spectrum of writing in the various languages
of Mathematics, program code (including scripting languages,
compiled languages and shell languages) and formal scientific
writing. It also includes the generation of scientific figures,
data tables and interactive simulations for publications and
presentations for other lab members and for the supervisor.
The candidate will be expected to familiarize themself with the
extensive body of computational tools provided by the lab as well
as those available to the mathematical and computational community.
They are expected to understand the mathematical and statistical
theory behind these tools, how they are implemented and to develop
their own strategies and algorithms for use and extension. This
will be done by independent study, interactions with the group
leader and with Professor Javier Arsuaga and Associate Specialist
Georgina Gonzalez. They are expected to design and implement new
tools and statistical analyses as they become necessary to explore
the questions and scenarios posed by the PIs, other lab researchers
and students.
The candidate will work mostly independently and is therefore
expected to be diligent in the maintenance of their work and
communicative about its development. They will do so via regular
updates to their PI, version control for their code and software
documentation. At key times, they will be expected to work very
closely with members of the lab to collaborate on publishing
efforts and ensure the quality and reproducibility of all results.
This will involve precise time management on their part, as the
productivity of collaborations are especially crucial to the
success of this interdisciplinary group. They are expected to
attend all group meetings and to present intermittently on their
research and on articles of noteworthy and relevant content, where
they will process the feedback of their peers and reciprocate in
kind.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND ACTIVITY (10%)
The candidate will also be expected to perform the tasks necessary
to administrate and bolster this interdisciplinary research group.
This involves maintaining public and private-facing forums of
discussion such as the lab website and (internal) wikipedia page.
They will also be expected to provide expertise on computational
approaches to those in the group whose strengths lie in other
areas. This will come in the form of hands-on assistance to their
peers as well as workshops on various computational topics.
UNIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE (5%)
The candidate will conduct necessary outreach and educational
sessions and assist with public facing activities organized by the
lab such as conferences or Picnic Day activities.
Applicants should submit a cover letter, a research statement
describing their past research experience, skills and interests,
and a curriculum vitae. Documents/materials must be submitted as
PDF files. Applicants should also provide contact information for
two references. All letters will be treated as confidential per
University of California policy and California state law. For more
information about the department, please visit the website:
https://mmg.ucdavis.edu/
QUESTIONS: Please direct questions to Dr. Mariel Vazquez at
mrlvazquez@ucdavis.edu
Department: https://mmg.ucdavis.edu/
Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
Preferred qualifications (other preferred, but not required,
qualifications for the position)
Application Requirements
Document requirements
(Optional)
Reference requirements
Apply link:
https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF06695
Help contact: ggomes@ucdavis.edu
About UC Davis
UC Davis is a smoke and tobacco-free campus
(http://breathefree.ucdavis.edu/).
We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and
particularly encourage applications from members of historically
underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, women, individuals with
disabilities, veterans, LGBTQ community members, and others who
demonstrate the ability to help us achieve our vision of a diverse
and inclusive community.
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative
Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national
origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other
protected categories covered by the UC nondiscrimination
policy.
For the University of California's Affirmative Action Policy,
please visit: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM-20
For the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy,
please visit:
http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/Anti-Discrimination
Under Federal law, the University of California may employ only
individuals who are legally able to work in the United States as
established by providing documents as specified in the Immigration
Reform and Control Act of 1986. Certain UC Davis positions funded
by federal contracts or sub-contracts require the selected
candidate to pass an E-Verify check. More information is available
at: http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) is committed to
inclusive excellence by advancing equity, diversity and inclusion
in all that we do. UC Davis celebrates the multi-cultural diversity
of its community by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment
demonstrated through a variety of resources and programs available
to academics, staff, and students. Diversity, equity, inclusion,
and belonging are core values of UC Davis that are embedded within
our Principles of Community and are tied with how to best serve our
student population. Our excellence in research, teaching, and
service can best be fully realized by members of our academic
community who share our commitment to these values, which are
included in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Vision, our
strategic plan: "To Boldly Go," our Principles of Community, the
Office of Academic Affairs' Mission Statement, and the UC Board of
Regents Policy 4400: Policy on University of California Diversity
Statement. UC Davis is making important progress towards our goal
of achieving federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution
and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific
Islander-Serving Institution. The Office of Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion offers a plethora of resources on their website, and the
Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (HEDI) has
outlined similar goals in their "Anti-Racism and DEI Action Plan."
There are a plethora of links available on the About Us webpage
where you can learn more about our Administration, Diversity and
Inclusion, Rankings, Locations, Native American Land
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Health, and Campus Safety.
The university is consistently ranked among the top institutions in
the world for campus sustainability practices by the UI Green
Metric World University Rankings. UC Davis is focused on achieving
net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and repeatedly shown its
commitment to preserving a healthy and sustainable environment for
generations to come.
As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all
applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining
agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or
local government directives may impose additional requirements.
Job location
Davis, CA
Keywords: University of California - Davis, Davis , Assistant Specialist, Vazquez lab, Healthcare , Davis, California
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