[Arabidopsis] Postdoctoral position in brassica epigenetics in IPMB, Taiwan

[Renee Sung]

A postdoctoral fellow position is available at the Institute of Plant 
and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica (IPMB-AS), to study the role 
of Polycomb Group proteins in plant (broccoli) development, a 
collaborative effort between Dr. Z. Renee Sung, UC Berkeley, 
California and Dr. L. Oliver Chen in IPMB-AS, Taiwan. Polycomb group 
proteins play major roles in embryogenesis, cancer and stem cell 
renewal.  They encode chromatin proteins that form multi-protein 
complexes, functioning to maintain gene silencing via histone 
modifications.  In Arabidopsis, PcG proteins are required to regulate 
major developmental processes such as seed development and flowering. 
Dr. Sung's laboratory has been studying the molecular mechanism  of 
PcG proteins in silencing flower MADS-box genes and maintain 
vegetative development.  Dr. Chen's laboratory focuses on transgenics 
and functional gene analyses on broccoli (Brassica oleracea.  Var. 
italica) The collaborative project investigates the role of PcG 
proteins in broccoli development with 2 emphases--  the evolution of 
PcG protein genes and the isolation of the PcG protein complexes. 
Despite the importance of the PcG protein genes in Arabidopsis 
development, little is known of the role of these genes in other 
plant species.  Broccoli, being a close relative of Arabidopsis,  is 
an ideal organism for investigating the functional conservation of 
these genes during evolution. Moreover, tools developed in 
Arabidopsis can be readily applied to broccoli.  Due to its large 
plant size, broccoli is also excellent for protein purification and 
protein complex isolation studies.

Candidates should have a PhD and experiences in plant molecular 
biology and protein biochemistry with skills in gene cloning, DNA and 
RNA analysis, protein purification, immunoprecipitation, western 
analysis. Experiences in Chromatin immunoprecipitation, microarray, 
transgenic plants and plant genetic analyses are desirable. 
Reasonable levels of writing and verbal communicating skills in 
English are required. Successful applicants will be one who is 
capable of independent research and  experimental designs. A 
self-motivated, creative individual with communication skills are 
required. The appointee will lead a small group of Chinese graduates 
and research assistants. For additional information, candidate should 
access Dr. Sung's website through the Department of Plant and 
Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley, http://pmb.berkeley.edu, and Dr. 
Chen's website through the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, 
Academia Sinica, http://ipmb.sinica.edu.tw.
The salary will be between US$1,700.00~2,600.00 per month depending 
on experience. The positions can start as early as February 2008. 
IPMB-AS is well-equipped with five nice core facilities for cell 
biology, microarray analysis, proteomics, transgenic plant generation 
and bioinformatics studies. For your interest, you are welcome to 
visit our web site as indicated previously. There are seven other 
Life Science Research Centers or Institutes -- Institutes of 
Molecular Biology, Biological Chemistry, Biomedical Sciences, 
Cellular and Organismic Biology and Genomic Research Center, 
Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center and Research Center for 
Biodiversity all in the walking distance providing an excellent 
research environment for collaborative studies. Rental apartments and 
housings are available in the neighborhood. Minimal level of living 
costs is around US$700.00~800.00/month. Convenient transportation 
system to downtown Taipei as well as travel around the island is also 
available. If you have any other question, please contact us at 
zrsung from nature, or ochenlf from gate.sinica.edu.tw