Postdoctoral Fellow

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, and has as its mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition.

The Division of Invertebrate Zoology is seeking a full-time Postdoctoral Fellow (two-year term) to perform comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses on nudibranchs related to an NSF
-funded project in collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Tarvin at UC Berkeley to study the process of kleptocnidy, the theft and storage of microscopic stinging structures (nematocysts), in nudibranch mollusks. We are interested in whether this unique process evolved through specialization of phagocytosis, an ancient cellular process used across animals for immune defense and intracellular digestion. The Postdoctoral Fellow will design and execute original research projects related to the grant under the supervision of Dr.

Jessica Goodheart. The position will involve field work, the care of invertebrates, and genomics. Scholarly impact, including through publication in refereed literature and presentation at conferences, workshops, and seminars, is a major goal of this position. This position is intended to be a period of mentored advanced training, scientific research, and/or pedagogical contributions designed to enhance the incumbent’s professional, research, and scholarly proficiency.

Job duties include, but are not limited to:

• Carry out original scientific research related to dietary theft in nudibranchs, including field-based work.
• Write and publish peer-reviewed papers and other scholarly material on the results of the research.
• Present scientific results at professional meetings, scientific institutions, and, when appropriate, to the media and popular audiences.

The expected salary for the Postdoctoral Fellow is $73,316/annual. The AMNH offers an extensive benefits package designed to meet the needs of our dedicated and diverse community.

Pay will be determined based on several factors. The hiring range for the position at commencement is based on the type of work and the scope of responsibilities. The salary and placement offered is based on a number of individualized factors, including, but not limited to, skills, knowledge, training, education, credentials, areas of specialization, and depth and scope of experience.

• Completion of all education requirements needed for conferral of a PhD in an appropriate biology-related field by the time of appointment.
• Prior research experience with evidence of scientific research outcomes resulting from or following obtaining a PhD.
• Experience with processes, methods, equipment, computer programming, etc. required to conduct related research.

• Track record of research productivity as evidenced in first-author publications.
• Demonstrated ability and willingness to work both independently and collaboratively.
• Experience with experimental design, marine fieldwork, and comparative genomics/transcriptomics.
• Willingness to work with live animals in the field and lab.
• Familiarity with nudibranch mollusks or other marine invertebrates.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position (sitting or standing) for prolonged periods.
• Must be able to occasionally lift up to 20 pounds.
• Must be able to move about the Museum campus.
• Positioning/change of positioning:
  Must be able to frequently position oneself/body to accomplish job duties.
  • Balancing:
    Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling.
  • Climbing:
    Ascending or descending physical structures.
  • Exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally and up to 20 pounds of force frequently. May include any of the following:
    • Pushing:
      Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force to thrust forward, downward, or outward.
    • Pulling:
      Using upper extremities to exert force in order to drag, haul, or tug objects in a sustained motion.
    • Lifting:
      Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position.

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