Postdoctoral Research Positions, Queen’s University, Canada

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Postdoctoral Research Position in the Genomics of Agricultural Microbes (Wet-Lab),

The diCenzo Lab at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (dicenzolab.weebly.com) seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow for a large, well-funded project to develop microbial inoculants supporting the nutrition of key Canadian crops. The selected candidate will work with a large team spanning multiple universities and involving industry and government partners. The selected candidate will have opportunities to undertake internships with our industrial partners to develop new skills and professional networks.
As part of this project, the selected candidate will establish a large collection of bacteria isolates from agricultural soils and from legume nodules, and they will be involved in performing Nanopore whole genome sequencing. The selected candidate will also evaluate multiple traits of the rhizobial isolates, including nitrogen-fixing efficacy and competition for nodule occupancy. The selected candidate will be provided the opportunity to branch out from this primary project to develop their own lines of independent research to support their future career, and they will have opportunities to attend conferences and professional development workshops, and to engage with collaborators and the local community.
Primary duties and responsibilities​

Perform independent research within the scope of the project and ensure that milestones are met on schedule.

Interact and share data with collaborators at Queen’s University and other institutions.

Contribute to quarterly reporting and data dissemination through publications, presentations, and website maintenance.

Contribute to training of junior group members.

Generate new ideas related to the project or other research projects.

Preferred qualifications
PhD in microbiology, plant-microbe interactions, or other field relevant to environmental microbiology.

Experience with research in microbiology, plant-microbe interactions, and/or rhizobium-legume symbioses.

Experience in one or more of the following: isolation of microbes from soils, bacterial cultivation, nucleic acid purification, or evaluating rhizobial performance.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Experience working with others and mentoring junior group members.

Skills in organization, time management, adherence to timelines, and communication.

To apply
The ideal start date is September or October 2023, but it is negotiable based on the needs of the selected candidate. To apply, please submit the following to [email protected]: (i) a cover letter describing your interest in the project, your fit to the position, and how the position would help you reach your career goals; (ii) a CV including a list of publications; and (iii) contact information for two academic / professional references. Applications will be considered as they are received and will continue until a candidate is selected; however, applicants are encouraged to submit prior to June 26, 2023 to ensure full consideration.
I am committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the team and the hiring process. If you require accommodations during the application and/or interview process, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] and reference this posting.

​A PDF version of this posting can be downloaded by clicking the following link: PDF copy of position opening.

Postdoctoral research position in the genomics of agricultural microbes (dry-lab)
The diCenzo Lab at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (dicenzolab.weebly.com) seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow for a large, well-funded project to develop microbial inoculants supporting the nutrition of key Canadian crops. The selected candidate will work with a large team spanning multiple universities and involving industry and government partners. The selected candidate will have opportunities to undertake internships with our industrial partners to develop new skills and professional networks.
As part of this project, the selected candidate will perform whole genome sequencing and annotation for a large collection of bacterial isolates from agricultural soils and legume nodules. The selected candidate will also analyze agricultural soil metagenomic datasets, contribute to transcriptomic and resequencing projects, and develop machine learning models using genomics information. The selected candidate will be provided the opportunity to branch out from this primary project to develop their own lines of independent research to support their future career, and they will have opportunities to attend conferences and professional development workshops, and to engage with collaborators and the local community.
Primary duties and responsibilities

Perform independent research within the scope of the project and ensure that milestones are met on schedule.

Interact and share data with collaborators at Queen’s University and other institutions.

Contribute to quarterly reporting and data dissemination through publications, presentations, and website maintenance.

Contribute to training of junior group members.

Generate new ideas related to the project or other research projects.

Preferred qualifications

PhD in microbiology, bioinformatics, or other field relevant to computational genomics.

Experience in bioinformatics software, the Linux command line, and/or one or more programming language (e.g., Bash, Python, Perl).

Experience in one or more of the following: bacterial genome assembly, comparative genomics, metagenomics, microbial community analysis, or machine learning as applied to genomics.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Experience working with others and mentoring junior group members.

Skills in organization, time management, adherence to timelines, and communication.

To apply
The ideal start date is October 2023; however, the start date is negotiable based on the needs of the selected candidate. To apply, please submit the following to [email protected]: (i) a cover letter describing your interest in the project, your fit to the position, and how the position would help you reach your career goals; (ii) a CV including a list of publications; and (iii) contact information for two academic / professional references. Applications will be considered as they are received and will continue until a candidate is selected; however, applicants are encouraged to submit prior to June 26, 2023 to ensure full consideration.
I am committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the team and the hiring process. If you require accommodations during the application and/or interview process, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] and reference this posting.
​A PDF version of this posting can be downloaded by clicking the following link: PDF copy of position opening.

Postdoctoral research position in synthetic biology and green biotechnology
The diCenzo Lab at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (dicenzolab.weebly.com) seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow to engineer microbes to convert low-value carbon compounds (e.g., acetate) into value-added products (e.g., bioplastics or fuels). This position is jointly funded by New Frontiers Exploration grant focused on the conversion of CO2 into value-added products (led by Dr. Dinh; refuelqueens.com), and a large-scale Genome Canada grant centred on plastic biodegradation (openplastic.com; led by Dr. Yang; biosyscompute.com). The selected candidate will have opportunities to undertake internships with our industrial partners to develop new skills and professional networks.
As part of this project, the selected candidate will identify microbes with suitable growth properties, design and build metabolic pathways for conversion of the substrates to the desired products, and they will use methods like adaptive laboratory evolution to improve the conversion rate. The selected candidate will have the opportunity to branch out from this primary project to develop their own lines of independent research to support their future career, and they will have opportunities to attend conferences and professional development workshops, and to engage with collaborators and the local community.
Primary duties and responsibilities
Perform independent research within the scope of the project and ensure that milestones are met on schedule.

Interact and share data with collaborators at Queen’s University and other institutions.

Contribute to grant reporting and data dissemination through publications and presentations.

Contribute to training of junior group members.

Generate new ideas related to the project or other research projects.
Preferred qualifications

PhD in synthetic biology, microbiology, or other field relevant to microbial biotechnology.

Experience with research in synthetic biology, microbiology, biotechnology, bioinformatics, or genomics.

Experience in one or more of the following: bacterial and/or yeast cultivation, molecular genetics, metabolic pathway design or modification, or microbial genome engineering.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Experience working with others and mentoring junior group members.

Skills in organization, time management, adherence to timelines, and communication.

To apply
The ideal start date is between September and November 2023, but it is negotiable based on the needs of the selected candidate. To apply, please submit the following to [email protected]: (i) a cover letter describing your interest in the project, your fit to the position, and how the position would help you reach your career goals; (ii) a CV including a list of publications; and (iii) contact information for two academic / professional references. Applications will be considered as they are received and will continue until a candidate is selected; however, applicants are encouraged to submit prior to June 26, 2023 to ensure full consideration.

I am committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the team and the hiring process. If you require accommodations during the application and/or interview process, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] and reference this posting.
​A PDF version of this posting can be downloaded by clicking the following link: PDF copy of position opening.

Graduate student position in rhizobium ecology and genomics
The diCenzo Lab at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (dicenzolab.weebly.com) seeks a graduate student at the MSc or PhD level for a large, well-funded project to develop rhizobium inoculants supporting the nutrition of bean plants. The selected candidate will work with a team spanning multiple universities and involving industry and government partners. The selected candidate will have opportunities to undertake internships with our industrial partners to develop new skills and professional networks.
As part of this project, the selected candidate will establish a collection of rhizobia (bacteria) from Ontarian soils, and they will be involved in the Nanopore whole genome sequencing of all isolates. The selected candidate will also evaluate the nitrogen-fixing abilities of the rhizobial isolates during symbiosis with multiple bean plant varieties. The selected candidate will have opportunities to attend conferences and professional development workshops, and to engage with collaborators and the local community. At the PhD level, the selected candidate will be provided the opportunity to develop new lines of research to support their thesis and future career.
Primary duties and responsibilities

Perform research within the scope of the project, supporting progress towards project milestones.

Interact and share data with collaborators at Queen’s University and other institutions.

Contribute to data dissemination through conference presentations and assisting with publications.

Preferred qualifications

BSc in biology, microbiology, genomics, or other field relevant to plant-bacteria interactions.

Experience with research in biology, microbiology, or genomics is preferred but not required. This includes, but is not limited to, experiences such as a 4th year thesis project or summer research.

Skills in organization, time management, adherence to timelines, and communication.

Experience working with others.

Experience with the exact techniques used in this project is not required as the selected candidate will receive training in all necessary methodology.

To apply
The start date is flexible and can be January, May, or September 2024, depending on the needs of the selected candidate. To apply, please submit the following to [email protected]: (i) a cover letter describing your interest in the project, your fit to the position, and how the position would help you reach your career goals; (ii) a complete CV/resume; and (iii) contact information for two academic / professional references. Applications will be considered as they are received and will continue until a candidate is selected.
I am committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the team and the hiring process. If you require accommodations during the application and/or interview process, please contact Human Resources at [email protected] and reference this posting.
​A PDF version of this posting can be downloaded by clicking the following link: PDF copy of position opening.

Graduate student (MSc or PhD)
in Rhizobium Genetics or Systems Biology
The rhizobia are a polyphyletic group of soil bacteria that fix nitrogen gas to ammonia during endosymbiotic relationships with legumes. The 1973 oil crisis prompted significant interest in rhizobia as alternatives to oil-based N-fertilizers. Decades of study have established the core machinery underpinning the symbiotic abilities of rhizobia. Nevertheless, new rhizobium genes contributing to the symbiosis are continually identified, highlighting that much remains to be discovered. Understanding the biochemical processes required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation is a critical step towards engineering rhizobia for improved crop yield while reducing the application of environmentally hazardous N-fertilizers. However, our understanding of rhizobia, and microbes in general, is limited by the poor functional annotation of their genomes. In any given bacterium, about a third of the annotated genes encode proteins with no known function.
Our research team applies molecular genetics, functional genomics, systems-biology, and computational biology approaches to the study of a model rhizobium, Sinorhizobium meliloti. Our work aims to: i) broadly uncover bacterial gene networks and the functions of specific bacterial genes, and ii) develop an improved understanding of the biochemical networks of rhizobia and their relevance to symbiotic nitrogen fixation. We are always happy to hear from people interested in these topics. If you are interested in pursuing graduate studies in this area, please email Dr. George diCenzo ([email protected]) to discuss possibilities.
Relevant links:
Queen’s University
Department of Biology
Lab website homepage