Postdoctoral Associate in Biology: mTORC1 and Aphid/Buchnera Endosymbiosis University of Miami in United States

University of Miami is advertising a Post Doctoral Associate in Biology based in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. This is a full-time, on-site postdoctoral research opportunity in the Wilson Lab within the Host-Microbe Interactions (HoMI) Laboratory and the Symbiosis@UM cluster in the Department of Biology.

The project is NSF-funded and focuses on a highly interdisciplinary problem at the intersection of cell biology, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, and symbiosis: testing whether mTORC1 acts as a master regulator of the aphid/Buchnera endosymbiosis. The lab is asking how aphids coordinate bacterial population growth with their own development and reproduction across generations, and whether a conserved nutrient-sensing pathway underlies that coordination.

The position is described as primarily laboratory-based with a substantial computational component, and the successful candidate will work as part of a collaborative research team. The announcement explicitly welcomes candidates from any relevant background, even if they have not previously worked on insects or symbiosis, as long as they bring curiosity and a willingness to build tools in an emerging system.

Eligibility highlights: a PhD in cell biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, or a related field is required at time of hire. Applicants should have hands-on experience with confocal microscopy, competence in applied statistics, and a record of peer-reviewed publication. The ability to progress a project with limited day-to-day supervision and to work effectively in a multidisciplinary environment is also required. Preferred experience includes high-throughput sequencing analysis, microdissection, microinjection of insects, RNA-seq from small or dissected tissue samples, and insect performance/life-history assays.

The post offers opportunities to contribute as a first author, co-mentor undergraduate researchers, and receive support for conference travel. The lab also encourages candidates who want to pursue independent fellowship funding and says mentoring, letters, and feedback on drafts will be provided. University of Miami career development resources are also available to postdoctoral scholars.

How to apply: submit a CV and cover letter, plus the names of three references. In the cover letter, applicants should explain their fit for the position, state one specific research question they would want to answer in this system, and outline how they would approach it. The posting links to the lab’s Google Scholar publication list for Alex C C Wilson.

Research keywords: biology, cell biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, symbiosis, endosymbiosis, aphid biology, Buchnera, mTORC1, host-microbe interactions, computational biology, sequencing analysis, statistics.