Please see below for available opportunities in the Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center for Undergraduates, Graduate students, and Postdoctoral Researchers. To learn more about our research, visit our projects page.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Penn students interested in research positions are encouraged to search for opportunities listed by Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF). Please contact Maureen Kirsch with any questions.
Graduate Education
The majority of our students are affiliated with one of the seven graduate groups in the Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) at Penn. For more information on applying to one of these programs, please visit the BGS website.
Other graduate programs at Penn affiliated with PNGC faculty:
Current graduate students should reach out to faculty directly to discuss possible rotation projects.
Postdoctoral programs
The Biomedical Postdoctoral Programs office has more information on postdoctoral training along with available opportunities at Penn.
Current opening in PNGC:
Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center (PNGC) is seeking applications for postdoctoral researchers interested in the development and applications of algorithms, statistical models, and big genomic data mining and machine learning methods in human genetics and genomics, with focus on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
PNGC studies genetics of Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementia. Our researchers apply high throughput genotyping and sequencing technologies to analyze tens of thousands of genomes and find novel genes. New experimental approaches, algorithms, and databases are developed in order to translate these findings into biological knowledge about the disease and new directions for drug discovery and preventive strategies. Example projects include:
- Analysis of GWAS and genome resequencing to find novel genetic variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia;
- Translating genetic associations to affected regulatory genomic elements, targeted genes, and downstream pathways and networks;
- Harmonization and mining of deep phenotypes with genetic data for gene-environment associations, health economic analysis, and disease risk modeling;
- Developing novel methods, resources, and databases for big genomic data analysis using data mining and artificial intelligence on cloud computing environments;
- Developing algorithms and workflows for structural variant calling and analysis from GWAS and sequencing data.
The Center is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative and includes more than a dozen faculty members who specialize in neurodegenerative disorders and dementia, bioinformatics, biostatistics, human genetics, and genomics. Among the many scientific programs supported by PNGC are projects (ADGC, GCAD, NIAGADS) funded by National Institute on Aging (NIA) to build new cohorts, coordinate analysis, and disseminate data and findings for Alzheimer’s disease. These projects form the national hub for AD genetics research and drive the AD Sequencing Project (ADSP), a key NIA initiative with ~150 scientists from 19 institutions nationwide to sequence the DNA of more than 15,000 individuals.
Qualifications: Ph.D. or equivalent degree in computer science, statistics, genetic epidemiology, biology, computational biology, or other related fields required. Experience in handling genomic and human genetics, algorithms, machine learning, data mining, and/or next-generation sequencing data preferred.
Applicants, please send cover letter and CV to Maureen Kirsch (maurkirs@pennmedicine.upenn.edu)