JOB POST: Bioinformatician in the Department of Microbiology at Ohio State

The Microbiology Department at The Ohio State University has the following position in which you may be interested.

Title: Research Associate 2-B/H
Department: Microbiology Admin
Posting Number: 378550

Performs analysis and interpretation of high throughput genomic data; develops experimental procedures and analyzes data; translates biological questions into computational goals using existing methods or developing new algorithms and tools when existing methods are inadequate; designs, develops, modifies, tests, evaluates and maintains customized scripting programs for analyzing, preparing, converting biological data (Illumina and other NGS platforms) for import and export; trains and assists research group members in UNIX/Linux methodologies; performs system administration work including interfacing with collocation facility; orders supplies; configures new computers; maintains quality assurance documentation.

If you are interested in this position, you can apply on our employment site at:www.jobsatosu.com

The good and bad of being a postdoc and student mentor at a research lab…

One of the best things, and one of the worst things, about mentoring and supervising students and postdocs at my institution is when they leave for their next position.  This last month has seen a remarkable confluence of the above.  Two postdocs (Tarah and Meg) have now moved on to fabulous new Assistant Professor positions; my graduate student (Migun) has graduated and moved on to a postdoc; and a visiting summer graduate student (Stacy) has returned to her studies and teaching.  And as if that wasn’t enough, Emily another grad student I co-advise, will finish in November!  This is particularly remarkable as I don’t have a huge group and have never had more than 5-6 students/postdocs in my lab at any given time!

As a mentor, I couldn’t be prouder!

I must be doing something right, or at least have done right initially in picking some smart scientists and dedicated individuals to work with over these last few years. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

As a Project Manager, PI and Mid-Career Scientist all I can say is yikes! 

All of the projects these folks have worked on have further studies to complete in the near term or are continuing for the long term. This will be a challenge for me as I try to keep making progress over the next few months.  I suspect that I may be having some more hands on time in the lab.  This is a very iffy proposition as I’m extremely rusty in my bench/laboratory skills.  How will I succeed in the lab, analyze data, write papers, conduct searches for replacement students/postdocs, manage projects and budgets, write grant proposals, serve on review panels, peer review and edit papers, serve on committees, etc., etc., and make any reasonable progress on any one of the above?

Check back with me after the new year… If I’m still sane/standing that is!

ORNL Internship Opportunities for Spring Term

Spring undergraduate applications available

Applications are now being accepted for the 2014 Spring Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program,which encourages undergraduate students to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers by providing research experiences at DOE laboratories. Spring internship dates are Jan. 6 through April 25. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1.

New Summer Student Joins the ORNL Crew

I was fortunate to find a great summer ‘intern’ that joined the lab this week.  Stacey Travis just finished the first year of her Masters program at University of Florida in Soil and Water Sciences. For her thesis she is working soil chemistry and phytoaccumulation of PAHs in the floodplains of the Tennessee River near Chattanooga.  This summer she will be working closely with Tarah Sullivan as we make a final push to wrap up work on our DoD/SERDP project investigating the effects of soil fungi on Pb speciation that ends this year.  Here they are seiving soils for our next incubation experiment (Tarah on the left and Stacey on the right)!

Summer Undergraduate and Educator Internship Programs

Applications are now being accepted for the Summer 2013 DOE laboratory internship programs (SULI, CCI and VF). These are great opportunities for undergraduates and educators to get hands on science experience, and we usually have a few working with us at ORNL. Most students come in the summer, but opportunities exist year around.

Program Summary is excerpted below:
The DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) leverages the expertise of its six research program offices and the unique capabilities at DOE’s laboratories to sponsor workforce training programs designed to motivate students and educators to pursue careers that will contribute to the Office of Science’s mission in discovery science and science for the national need. WDTS also partners and coordinates with other DOE program offices and other federal agencies in its workforce and STEM education efforts.

The 4rd Annual Summer Soil Institute at Colorado State

The 4rd Annual Summer Soil Institute at Colorado State

Fort Collins, CO
July 7-20, 2013

Gain an integrated perspective with world-renowned faculty to address critical questions using current analytical techniques, experimental approaches, and instructional models.

What are the physical, chemical and biological components of soil? What do molecular techniques tell us about soil biodiversity? How does soil chemistry affect carbon and nutrient cycling? How are soil processes affected by global change?

The Summer Soil Institute is designed for graduate students, post-docs, professionals, faculty, and K-12 teachers. Located at the confluence of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains.

The course is limited to a maximum of 24 students. Tuition is $2000 for current graduate students and $2500 for others. A limited number of scholarships will be awarded to support tuition costs. Applications are now being reviewed.

Apply now!
Sign up for Updates on the Summer Soil Institute.