Postdoctoral position: Multiscale molecular simulations for the virtual physiological human
Applications are sought for a postdoctoral position at the Research Group on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB) located in the Barcelona Biomedical Research park. The candidate will join an internationally leading research centre with top-class facilities and will benefit from exposure to real-life challenges at the leading edge of science. The research will be carried out under the guidance of Gianni De Fabritiis.
Location
Barcelona, Spain,Barcelona Biomedical Research park.
The GRIB/UPF is part of the new Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (www.prbb.org) which, with a privileged location on the shoreline of the Mediterranean sea, constitutes one of the most exciting interdisciplinary research centres in Southern Europe in one of the fastest growing biomedical research regions in the continent with over a thousand scientists.
Aims
The candidate will work within the framework of the F7 EC-funded network of excellence (NoE) Virtual Physiological Human (VPH). In this scope, the candidate main profile is:
- The candidate will have a profile on molecular modelling and molecular simulations, with programming abilities, in order to study energetics and dynamics of proteins with emphasis on conformational sampling, aggregation and channel blocking.
The candidate will be able to use supercomputing facilities in Barcelona and the http://www.ps3grid.net/ grid of Playstation3 and Nvidia GPUs developed by this group which gives the possibility to run high throughput molecular dynamics simulations consisting of thousands of MD runs and multi microsecond timescales routinely. We expect the candidate to participate in the design and implementation of computational protocols for numerical experiments using the advanced computational engines developed in the group.
- We look for a researcher with excellent understanding of the physics underlying molecular simulations. Good knowledge of NAMD/VMD and a good publication track record are favourably valued. Very good communication skills in English are required, as strong interaction with the partners in the consortium is needed.
Relevant references
- [1] G. De Fabritiis, Performance of the Cell processor for biomolecular simulations, Comp. Phys. Commun. 176, 670 (2007).
[2] M. Harvey, G. Giupponi, J. Villa-Freixa and G. De Fabritiis, PS3GRID.NET: Building a distributed supercomputer using the PlayStation 3, Distributed & Grid Computing - Science Made Transparent for Everyone. Principles, Applications and Supporting Communities (2007). [3] G. De Fabritiis, P.V. Coveney and J. Villa-Freixa, Energetics of K+ permeability through Gramicidin A by forward-reverse steered molecular dynamics, in press Proteins (2008).
Further references are available at G. De Fabritiis home page
Candidate Profile and Requirements
- Candidates should have a proven track record of scientific publications with an aptitude for biomedical applications and computational experiments and modelling. Candidates must be able to demonstrate:
- Knowledge of molecular biophysics, statistical mechanics and molecular simulation techniques. (highly desirable).
- Good working knowledge of English and programming (highly desirable).
- Knowledge of computational modelling and simulation methodologies (desirable).
Funding and Eligibility
- The stipend will be in the range 30,000-35,000 euro before tax depending on the experience of the candidate. There will be ample opportunities to present his/her work at international meetings and conferences. Eligible candidates should apply by sending a complete and up to date CV together with the names and addresses of two academic referees to: Gianni De Fabritiis (gianni.defabritiis at upf.edu). The title of this offer must be clearly stated in any communication.