EMRLab

Come join our team and contribute to the ATOM consortium as a computational systems biology postdoc at Oak Ridge National Laboratory!

“Purpose: The Biosciences Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory invites qualified persons to apply for the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate in the area of computational systems physiology and molecular design.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: The position requires collaboration within a multi-disciplinary research environment consisting of experimental biologists, computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians for a project encompassing multiscale modeling, high performance computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in support of molecular design. The skill set of a qualified applicant will be utilized to develop mechanistic systems models for integration with the Accelerating Therapeutics for Opportunities in Medicine (ATOM) platform for drug discovery and in support of the Laboratory’s missions.”
APPLY HERE

The EMRLab is very excited to welcome new member Dr Charles Hodgens.  Dr Hodgens is joining the NSF-funded collaboration with our plant biology colleagues in Dr Marcela Rojas-Pierce’s lab at NC State University.  Charlie is a talented, discipline-crossing biologist who will be responsible for the computational aspects of this research effort.  He holds a PhD in Genetics and Molecular Biology with a Certificate in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from UNC-Chapel Hill. Check out the latest publication from his thesis work in the Kieber Lab: Mutagenomics: A rapid, high-throughput method to identify causative mutations from a genetic screen .  Welcome Charlie!!!

Belinda Akpa on Computational Systems Physiology

What inspired you to do research in your field?
Working in computational systems physiology gives me an excuse to marry multiple fields of interest in the pursuit of solving tough problems. It is also a chance to work in diverse teams, as the work often relies critically on expertise beyond what typically exists in one research group. It requires effective communication across different disciplinary cultures, and I’ve always been fascinated by cross-cultural communication in science and otherwise. More…

To apply: http://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/130009

The EMRLab (Molecular Biomedical Sciences) and the Rojas-Pierce lab (Plant and Microbial Biology) have recently received an NSF grant in support of their joint efforts to reveal the molecular rules underlying a critical dynamic function in plants: stoma opening as mediated by regulated vacuole fusion.  The 3 year award will support interdisciplinary research and outreach activities and provide research training for highschool, undergraduate, and graduate students.  The project also provides for transdisciplinary training of 2 postdocs. Are you interested in joining us? If so, keep reading.

NSF #1918746 Vacuole remodeling in guard cells during stomata movements

Postdoctoral Research Scholar Position in Computational Systems Biology A postdoctoral research scholar position is available immediately in the laboratory of Dr Belinda Akpa at North Carolina State University. The postdoc will work closely with plant cell biologists to develop a multi-scale model bridging intra-cellular protein dynamics with evolution of cell morphology by predicting organelle fusion dynamics. Responsibilities include mentoring undergraduate students and participating in outreach activities.

Applicants must have their PhD in Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Mathematical Biology, or a related field. Preference will be given to applicants with a demonstrated facility with cross-disciplinary communication and experience with computational modeling that includes working with varied experimental datasets. Experience with any of the following is particularly desirable: parameter estimation and uncertainty quantification, statistical inference, machine learning, and quantitative image analysis. Evidence of research productivity in the form of publications is important. The appointment is on an annual basis and renewable for up to 3 years.

From UTK:
“The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), will host its third 21^st Century Cures: Southeast Conference in March 2019 which will focus on applying systems biology to biomedical research.
Guests will hear insights from prestigious scientists, learn about research priorities and funding opportunities from leaders at the National Institutes of Health, and meet potential collaborators from across the Southeast. In addition, the event will include an interactive poster session to allow faculty and students to share their ideas with other attendees.”

Registration is open and abstracts are being accepted for poster presentations.

Things are busy at the EMRLab. A big thank you to all our lab members for their hard work!

Nik recently passed his prelim defense with flying colors. Last week he went on to present this work in a platform session at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting. Abstract

Lab alumna Manuela Ayee was also at the meeting. She presented her recently highlighted postdoctoral work with Dr Irena Levitan of the UIC College of Medicine. Go Manuela!

In just one semester, David’s contributions to the lab are taking us in new directions. With his co-authorship on a manuscript in Human Biology and a chapter in a book on Humanitarian Forensic Science, David’s Bayesian approaches have taken us into the field of Computational Forensics, with new collaborator Dr Chelsey Ann Juarez.  David’s work has also impacted our other modeling efforts involving scarce and qualitative data, with applications in membrane fusion and plant physiology.

Dr Akpa recently highlighted our collaborative work with NCSU Plant Biology colleague Dr Marcela Rojas-Pierce in a keynote presentation at the  NC State Genomic Sciences and Biomathematics Symposium.  Her talk, entitled “Realizing the potential of ‘tiny data’: a cell biology case study”, described our successes in building quantitative, multi-scale signaling models based on qualitative data describing cell and organelle morphology. This talk highlighted the critical role that modeling can play at very early stages of biological inquiry, helping to precisely frame biological questions and experimental strategies. Drs Akpa and Rojas-Pierce will speak about the nature of their integrative work at this year’s NSF-sponsored Finding Your Inner Modeler workshop (June 12-14), which is now open for registration.