Postdoc: Decoding Ancient Human & Pathogen Genomics

Københavns Universitet; København; On-site; DKK 470,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Copenhagen invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher in Ancient Human and Pathogen Genomics at Globe Institute, section for GeoGenetics. The two-year position starts 15 November 2026 or later, within the APOLLO Ancient Genomics Initiative.

You will apply bioinformatic methods to ancient pathogen DNA, perform population genomic analyses, and contribute to manuscripts. Collaboration across disciplines is central.

Qualifications

• PhD in bioinformatics, computational biology, genomics, evolutionary biology, health sciences, or a closely related quantitative field.
• Strong experience in the computational analysis of large-scale sequencing or metagenomic datasets.
• Proven ability to perform population genomic, evolutionary, and phylogenomic analyses of ancient DNA datasets.
• High proficiency in data analysis and statistical programming using R and/or Python.
• Experience working in high-performance computing (HPC) environments for large-scale analyses and with workflow management tools such as Snakemake or Nextflow.
• Solid understanding of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data characteristics, limitations, and sources of bias, particularly in low-coverage or degraded DNA datasets.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to translate complex genomic results into biological insight.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Responsibilities

• Applying robust bioinformatic and statistical methods to detect, authenticate, and analyse ancient pathogen DNA from large-scale ancient metagenomic shotgun sequencing datasets.
• Performing evolutionary, population genomic, and phylogenomic analyses to jointly investigate human and pathogen diversity through time.
• Leading and contributing to the preparation of manuscripts and the dissemination of research findings in scientific journals.
• Collaborating closely with laboratory scientists, bioinformaticians, archaeologists, and historians in a highly interdisciplinary research setting.
• Assisting in the supervision of graduate students and actively contributing to the intellectual and collaborative life of the research group.

Skills

Bioinformatics analysis

Population genomics

Phylogenomics

English communication

Team collaboration

Data interpretation

Education

PhD in bioinformatics/genomics

Tools

R

Python

Snakemake

Nextflow

HPC environments

Job description

University of Copenhagen invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher in Ancient Human and Pathogen Genomics at Globe Institute, section for GeoGenetics. The two-year position starts 15 November 2026 or later, within the APOLLO Ancient Genomics Initiative.

You will apply bioinformatic methods to ancient pathogen DNA, perform population genomic analyses, and contribute to manuscripts. Collaboration across disciplines is central.