Postdoctoral Researcher

**Job Description**
The Chappell and Stadler labs at Rice University are seeking a proactive, collaborative postdoctoral researcher to develop and apply a high-throughput platform for isolating and engineering environmental plasmids, and to characterize their properties such as host range, stability, and transfer dynamics. This project combines complementary strengths in synthetic biology and environmental microbiology to advance new tools for monitoring and harnessing mobile genetic elements in microbiome engineering. The role offers the opportunity to work closely across two dynamic research groups, engage with a diverse network of scientists, and contribute to innovative, cross-disciplinary projects at the interface of fundamental and applied microbial research.

**Skills & Abilities**
• Strong background in environmental microbiology, synthetic biology, or biomolecular engineering
• Skilled in high-throughput sequencing and data analysis
• Familiarity with plasmid isolation and engineering techniques
• Proficiency in molecular biology methods such as cloning, PCR, and transformation
• Ability to design and conduct experiments independently and collaboratively
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrated organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary team
• Demonstrated application of synthetic biology or biomolecular engineering tools in environmental systems (Preferred)
• Experience working with complex microbial communities or microbiomes (Preferred)
• Familiarity with methods for assessing plasmid host range, stability, and mobility (Preferred)
• Ability to analyze high-throughput sequencing data for plasmid profiling and comparative analysis (Preferred)
• Understanding of mobile genetic elements in the context of microbial ecology or gene flow dynamics (Preferred)

**Qualifications**
Required Degree(s) in:
• Microbiology
• Environmental Engineering
• Synthetic Biology
• Molecular Biology
• Microbial Ecology
• Bioengineering
• Related field

**Experience**
Experience Required:
• No experience required (Ph.D)

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