Postdoc position in Computational Psychiatric Genetics at Johns Hopkins

Postdoc position in Computational Psychiatric Genetics at Johns Hopkins

A postdoc position is now available to work with Dr. Shizhong Han, Associate Professor, in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins.

Research in Dr. Han’s lab has been focused on investigating the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders, and developing statistical genetic approaches and computational tools that will facilitate the effort to identify disease susceptibility genes more broadly.

The candidate is expected to work with Dr. Han to develop and apply machine learning and network-based approaches to identify genes underlying psychiatric disorders and translate genetic findings to disease risk prediction and discovery of novel drug candidates for treatment. Research projects will include: 1) integration of multi-omics datasets including GWAS, RNA-Seq and Chip-Seq to identify causal genes underlying several major psychiatric disorders; 2) biomarker discovery (methylation) for treatment response; 3) disease risk prediction using polygenic risk score-based approach; and 4) drug repurposing for psychiatric disorders by integrating GWAS with drug-related knowledge database. Candidates with a doctoral degree in human genetics, bioinformatics, or other fields with strong quantitative skills (e.g., biostatistics, statistics, or computer science) will be considered.

Strong programing skills in Perl/Python and R are essential. Experiences with large-scale genetic or genomic datasets are necessary. Experiences with machine learning or network-based approach are a plus. The candidates need to be highly motivated, excellent in academic writing, and able to work well in a collaborative environment.

The successful candidate will receive intensive training on projects tailored to his/her research interests and experiences. The successful candidate will be encouraged to present research work in national and international meetings, and be supported for professional development.

Interested applicants should send cover letter, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references to Shizhong Han at: shan67@jhmi.edu.