04 Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto invites applications for a Research Associate (Limited Term) for 14-month appointment. The anticipated start date is April, 2025.

The position will be in the Exploration Geophysics research group, led by Professor Andrei Swidinsky (https://www.es.utoronto.ca/people/faculty/andrei-swidinsky/). The project involves the development of machine learning tools for carbon capture & storage, with a particular focus on reinforcement learning coupled with reactive transport flow modelling and geophysical simulation to optimize carbon mineralization processes.

The successful applicant will be expected to independently carry out research projects including formulating problems, developing machine learning algorithms, identifying/compiling/working with carbon mineralization data from industrial partners, and writing reports, papers and proposals.

The university’s second largest division, U of T Mississauga has 17 academic departments and offers 156 programs in 92 areas of study. Home to approximately 15,000 students and over 1,000 faculty and staff, the campus houses the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Management and Innovation. With its distinctive interdisciplinary programs such as forensic sciences and biomedical communications, U of T Mississauga offers a broad array of continuing education programs and professional masters programs. Established in 1967, the campus features award-winning architecture, robust community partnerships and a dynamic student environment set amongst 225 acres along the Credit River in Mississauga.

The Department of Biology at the University of Toronto Mississauga invites applications for a Research Associate (Limited Term) and under the supervision of the Principal Investigator will contribute to their research focused on the evolution of metazoan cell types and electrochemical signaling in the nervous system. Specifically, the Research Associate will spearhead a project exploring the single cell transcriptome and molecular physiology of crystal cells from the early-diverging animal Trichoplax adhaerens, which are thought to be mechanosensitive cells involved in gravity detection. Through transcriptomics, a central objective will be to identify expressed genes encoding putative receptors that are capable of mechanotransduction (e.g., TRP channels, Deg/ENaC channels, Piezo channels), which will be subsequently cloned and characterized in vitro using whole-call patch clamp electrophysiology. Efforts will then be undertaken to disrupt the expression of these receptors in vivo, to search for causal roles in the gravitactic behavior of the animal.

The Laboratory for RNA-Based Lifeforms (https://RNAlab.ca) at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary research collective led by Dr. Artem Babaian. The lab focuses on understanding the structure and function of genes through the prism of RNA.

The sequence biodiversity of Earth’s RNA viruses and sub-viral agents is enormous and unexplored, at most 0.1% of the virome has been described. Our lab creates the computational means for ultra-efficient virus discovery by combining modern informatics and massive (petabyte-scale) data analyses. Building upon the Serratus project (www.serratus.io) we will explore the far limits of Earth’s Virome. 

“The Laboratory for RNA-Based Lifeforms” (https://RNAlab.ca) at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary research colelctive led by Dr. Artem Babaian. The lab focuses on understanding the structure and function of genes through the prism of RNA and computational biology.