Postdoctoral Position in Zoology at University of Fort Hare

Eligibility criteria:

• Open to South Africans, permanent residents or international researchers (need to hold or obtain a SAQA accreditation). At equal qualifications, skills and experience, preference will be given to South African citizens and/or women (as per UFH employment policy).
• Successful applicants may not hold full-time salaried employment during the fellowship.
• Applicants should have a PhD in Zoology/Genetics (or related field) obtained within the last 5 years.
• Excellent academic record with demonstrated ability to publish in high-impact factor journals as corresponding/lead author.
• Experience in presenting research at national and/or international conferences (oral presentations).
• Data analysis will require an extensive knowledge of multivariate statistics of metagenomic analysis, and R programming skills to analyse the generated data.
• Lab work will require advanced knowledge of genetics methodologies involving dietary analysis using faecal samples (i.e. species identification, sex identification and DNA metabarcoding) and/or population genetics using hair/tissue samples.
• Knowledge of metagenomic methods in general is important, specifically the laboratory preparation of samples (DNA extraction to library preparation for high-throughput sequencing of targeted amplicons) and a solid understanding of metagenomic data analysis methods.
• An added advantage would be experience with the Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies.

Key performance and expectations:

• Publish a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed research articles per annum in DHET accredited journals.
• Assist with supervision of post-graduate students on campus (lab and statistical analyses, write-up).
• Participate in other research activities as delegated.
• Present research at local conferences (funding-dependent).

Value of the fellowship and tenure:

• R300 000 per annum.
• The fellowship is available for a period of one year, renewable up to a total of 3 years, subject to satisfactory performance.

APPLICATIONS:

• A cover letter and CV, including all research outputs, should be sent to: Ms Babalwa Solani and cc Postdocs at ([email protected]), Division of Research, Partnerships and Innovation, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa. E-mail: [email protected] The closing date for applications is 25 May 2024.