Q-Gen position available (CIMMYT - Mexico City)

A Quantitative Geneticist Position is available.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is looking for an innovative, impact-oriented quantitative geneticist with a vision for applying the new genotyping and bioinformatics tools that are revolutionizing crop improvement world-wide. Join our international team of scientists in pioneering the application of novel breeding methods to accelerate the development of high-yielding, stress-tolerant maize and wheat varieties for Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  As a member of the CIMMYT Crop Research Informatics Laboratory (CRIL) you will collaborate with CIMMYT’s elite maize and wheat breeding teams, as well as with partners in advanced laboratories, seed companies, and national research programs world-wide, to improve the lives of farmers and consumers in the developing world who depend on maize and wheat for livelihoods and food security.

Serving the world’s highest-impact maize and wheat breeding programs, CIMMYT-CRIL is expanding its team of highly qualified and motivated scientists and software developers. You will be based at CIMMYT headquarters near Mexico City, but will work closely with our programs in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Primary research objectives include:

•     Developing  innovative breeding plans that exploit high-density

marker information to increase rates of gain in stress-prone and variable environments

•     Developing and testing algorithms and methods for estimating

haplotype effects and genomic estimated breeding values

•     Collaboration with bioinformaticians to organize high-density

genotypic information in formats that facilitate marker and haplotype effect estimation

•     Mining pedigree, genotypic, and phenotypic data to localize

markers for high-value alleles

•     Documenting genetic gains in CIMMYT’s breeding programs

Your job will entail that you:

•     Oversee the development of breeder-friendly software and

interfaces for selection and for display of predictions

•     Support researchers in experimental design and data analysis

•     Train CIMMYT scientists, national researchers, and private

partners in quantitative genetics and statistics applications

•     Publish scientific articles in refereed journals documenting

research progress

•     Participate in fund-raising to support the CIMMYT research

programs

We are seeking candidates with the following qualifications:

•     A PhD in quantitative or statistical genetics or in 

plant/animal breeding, post-PhD experience is desirable

•     Demonstrated research excellence in the application of high-

density marker information to plant/ animal breeding programs.

•     Excellent statistical computing skills, including proficiency

in R, SAS, and GENSTAT

•     A track record of working in close collaboration with breeders

•     The ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary and

multicultural teams

•     Good written and verbal communication skills in English

CIMMYT (www.cimmyt.org) is an internationally funded, nonprofit, scientific research, training and development organization dedicated to improving the nutrition, food security and livelihoods of the world’s poor. CIMMYT is a global leader in maize and wheat germplasm preservation, trait discovery, breeding, cropping-systems improvement, and socio-economic analysis for the developing world. The Center has an annual budget of US$60-70 million and employs approximately 700 staff.

Besides its headquarters and four research stations in Mexico, CIMMYT has regional centers and offices in twelve other countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The initial term of this position is 3 years, with the likelihood of periodic renewals in the future, subject to performance and availability of funding. Applications will be accepted until a suitable candidate has been identified. CIMMYT offers an attractive remuneration package commensurate to the candidate’s skills and length and depth of post-doctoral experience, paid in US dollars, with a range of  benefits including housing allowance, life and health insurance, education allowance (up to grade 12), home leave, retirement fund, and relocation shipping assistance.

For further information please contact: Gary Atlin, Associate Director of the Global Maize Program (g.atlin@cgiar.org) or Peter Wenzl, Head of the Crop Research Informatics Laboratory (CRIL), CIMMYT

(p.wenzl@cgiar.org)

CIMMYT is an equal-opportunity employer and strives for staff diversity in gender and nationality.