Opportunity Details
Department of Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Research
Assistant Professor
Research Assistant Professor for Whole-Genome Sequencing in Early Onset Alzheimer’s disease
The Cruchaga Lab, member of the Neurogenomics and Informatics Center (NGI) at Washington University School of Medicine invites applications for a non-tenure-track faculty position at the rank of Research Assistant Professor to develop a project to identify novel genes and pathways in Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease utilizing Whole Genome Sequencing.
Characterization of the genetic topography of Alzheimer's disease (AD) provides a unique opportunity to understand the disease. Genomic studies of AD have primarily focused on patients affected by the late-onset form of the disease (>65), or by the early onset AD (EOAD, <65) from families with Mendelian mutations in the APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2 genes. Mutations in these three genes only explain ~10% cases. Recently Dr. Cruchaga in collaboration with investigators at Miami University, and Columbia University to generate and analyze WGS in more than 3,500 EOAD cases and more than 10,000 controls from the Alzheimer Disease Sequencing Project.
We are looking for investigators with expertise in Whole Genome data, colocalization, Mendelian Randomization, and TWAS/Fusion approaches to lead this large effort. The successful candidate will join an already stablished team that include senior and junior scientist as well as Postdocs and PhD students that will also be involved on this project.
Recent publications on the subject:
Takada LT, et al. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2022. PMID: 35932032 | Timsina J, et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022, PMID: 35871246 | Cruchaga C. Med (N.Y.) 2022, PMID: 35590152 | Ibanez, L. Genes (Basel). 2021. PMID: 34440421
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
Responsible for developing end-to-end a project dissecting the genomic etiology of AD and related phenotypes
Lead, develop, and troubleshoot specific analyses
Multi-task projects and keeping pace in a dynamic research environment
Present research advances at a variety of internal and external seminars
Lead manuscript writing.
Direct, coordinate and supervise laboratory personal
Ability to mentor students and research staff
Diversity at WashU... Diversity is a core value at Washington University School of Medicine and in the Department of Psychiatry. We are committed to building and sustaining inclusive and equitable working and learning environments for all students, staff, trainees, and faculty. We believe that building a diverse team enriches us individually and as a department by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. More details can be found here.
An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer
Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. It is the university’s policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, veteran status, disability, or genetic information. Washington University seeks an exceptionally qualified and diverse faculty; women, minorities, protected veterans and candidates with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Preferred Qualifications
PhD or MD with 5 years of postdoctoral experience
Prominent record of research achievements in Whole Genome, Whole Exome sequencing
Demonstrated expertise in Plink, QC, IBD, PCA, R, Bash, Python, Perl, Java, SAS, SQL, Docker and omic data integration
Good knowledge of association analysis PRSice, MAGENTA, Mendelian Randomization, Mantra, Colocalization, Quantitative Trait Loci and Unix/Linux
Independent in literature search and keeping abreast of new scientific developments
Good, communications and writing skills
Demonstrable commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
Special Instructions
Applicants should submit: 1) cover letter describing their interest in the position, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) one-page description of their single-most important paper highlighting the novelty of the findings (accepted papers only) and 4) names and contact information of 3 professional references. Please send the materials in one single PDF to the attention of the Search Committee at cgleason@wustl.edu.
Christina Gleason
10/12/2022
No end date
An Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer
Washington University in St. Louis is committed to the principles and practices of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action. It is the university’s policy to recruit, hire, train, and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, veteran status, disability, or genetic information. Washington University seeks an exceptionally qualified and diverse faculty; women, minorities, protected veterans and candidates with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.