We are looking for enthusiastic students who have a background in molecular biology, virology and genetics, with laboratory experience related to these fields. Problem solving skills, attention to detail, and good time management skills are a must. Students with computational skills in python, java and R, with an interest in pipeline development for viral sequence data analysis are also encouraged to apply.
This project aims to innovate in the creation and accessibility of metagenomic sequence data relating to infectious agents by leveraging the potentially transformative tool of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). The WBE approach employs analysis of community wastewater from large populations to enable non-invasive, near real-time monitoring of both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. When combined with high-throughput metagenomic sequencing (HTS), the resulting WBE-HTS approach is promising for detecting a broad spectrum of infectious agents simultaneously, to identify vulnerabilities, outbreaks and epidemics early, thereby creating a novel and potentially life-saving diagnostic approach for protecting public health. Student tasks will include: sample preparation, total and viral nucleic acid extraction and some downstream data analysis.
Please send CV and unofficial transcripts to Erin Driver (erin.driver@asu.edu).
