Postdoctoral position in functional and population genomics of transposable elements in date palm

A junior postdoctoral researcher position (<2 years since PhD) is open in the DIADE laboratory in Montpellier, France, under the supervision of Yann Bourgeois. You will investigate the population dynamics of transposable elements and their contribution to functional genome annotation in date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). More senior candidates are also welcome to apply; however, given the available funding, the position may be limited to 12 months rather than the planned 18 months. The net salary (after all taxes) will be approximately €2,000/month for a junior postdoctoral researcher.
You can read more about the research done in DIADE here: https://www.umr-diade.fr/en/

The successful candidate will contribute to the second component of an ANR (French National Research Agency) project (DaTEPalm), which aims to understand how functional constraints and regulatory networks influence the deleterious effects of transposable elements (TEs) and their evolutionary dynamics in date palm. They will work closely with the project leader and contribute to the scientific supervision of the PhD student associated with the project, as well as to the dissemination and valorisation of results through analyses, publications and scientific presentations.
The main objective is to integrate population genomic approaches with functional genomic data (gene expression, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation and regulatory-region annotation) to identify genomic and functional factors predictive of the selective effects of TEs. The project will combine genomic, transcriptomic, epigenetic and regulatory-network data with population-genetic information, using statistical approaches and, where appropriate, machine-learning and deep-learning methods. Activities may include generating and analysing RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and DNA-methylation data, constructing gene regulatory networks, analysing whole-genome resequencing and TE datasets, and applying evolutionary modelling and simulations. Preliminary work describing the population genetics methodological framework that may be employed can be found here:
https://yannbourgeois.github.io/assets/html/Blog_post_TE_selection_inference.html
https://github.com/YannBourgeois/te_dfe

At the start of the project, more than 40 samples sequenced with Nanopore and covering the extant genetic diversity of date palm should be available, with funding for at least 20 additional samples. The project also benefits from a large cohort of nearly 1,000 palm trees resequenced with Illumina short reads.

The candidate will join the DIADE research unit in Montpellier, France, with access to major French HPC infrastructures and opportunities to collaborate with national and international researchers working on evolutionary genomics. The project may also involve fieldwork in France and potentially the Middle East. The candidate will have considerable flexibility in defining the specific research direction within the broader objectives of the project.

Applicants should hold a PhD in biology, evolutionary biology or bioinformatics and have strong expertise in genomics, transcriptomics, comparative genomics, scripting and computational analyses. Experience with population genomics, long-read sequencing, transposable elements and/or deep learning would be particularly valuable. Autonomy, rigour, adaptability, good communication skills and a collaborative spirit are expected.
You can contact the PI, Yann Bourgeois, at yann.bourgeois@ird.fr for informal enquiries.

Applications should be submitted through the dedicated IRD recruitment webpage:
https://emploi-recrutement.ird.fr/offre-de-emploi/emploi-chercheur-en-genomique-fonctionnelle-et-evolution-des-elements-transposables-f-h-_804.aspx

Interviews are expected to take place in the second half of September, with a planned start in early November 2026.

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