Since January 2015, I am now a lecturer and researcher at School of Biotechnology at Dublin City University

My research focuses on using genomics, population genetics and evolutionary modelling to infer the origin, spread and phylogeography of infectious diseases.

Pathogen evolution
Population genetics
Epidemiological genomics
Adaptive evolution

Bacterial epidemic genomics Nature Jobs Advertisement
Call for PhD students to apply for Irish Research Council funding
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates to apply for funding from the Irish Research Council to support MSc or PhD research at Dublin City University under the supervision of Lecturer in Genomics Tim Downing.

Bacterial population genomics:
Pandemic bacteria tolerate more drugs and grow faster than others. Experimental evolution work and genome-sequencing from patient infections has outlined the origin, spread and phylogeography of many bacterial disease, but has not yet tackled the fundamental issue of why single genetic clones dominate human infection. Patterns of periodic displacement, recombination and microevolution are common in bacteria, and here will build on on-going work by focusing on particular E. coli and S. aureus subtypes. The research will use bioinformatic, population genomic and computational modelling methods for high-throughput sequence data to infer the evolutionary and epidemiological characteristics of highly successful bacteria.

Qualifications:
The ideal candidate should have a first-rate academic track record and note that Irish Research Council scholarships are highly competitive. Applicants with computational and quantitative aptitude and relevant undergraduate or masters level qualifications in the areas of biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, bioinformatics, computer science or statistics will be considered. Candidates should have excellent organisational skills, science communication experience, and be highly motivated about scientific research.

Dublin City University provides an excellent environment for research on infectious disease evolution during structured MSc (24 months) and PhD (48 months) positions.
Informal enquiries may be made to Tim Downing (downingtim at gmail dot com)

To Apply:
Applications to include a covering letter, CV, and the contact details of two referees should be sent, via e-mail (in word or PDF only). Put reference number DCU-11-14 in subject line of e-mail application. Non-native speakers of English are required to provide evidence of their English language competency as part of their application.

Start date: 1st October 2015 (if funding to support stipend and tuition fees is secured)
Deadline: Friday 9th January 2015 (The IRC deadline is the 11th February 2015)