Two three-year Ph.D. studentships are available at the Computational Biochemistry Research Group (CBRG), department of Computer Science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), highly reputable internationally. CBRG is a member of the Swiss Bioinformatics Institute (SIB) and benefits from SIB training courses and networking. The research focus will be to study selective pressures and other patterns in proteins with tandem repeats (which often play role as receptors, implicated in human disease, and more). The project will involve modeling the evolutionary process at the codon level and developing/adapting machine-learning techniques to recognize patterns in complex multi-facet data. Planned collaborations with structural biologists (CNRS, Montpellier) promise an exciting case for motivated young scientists. Successful candidates will have a strong background in bioinformatics, computer science, statistics, and/or computational biology. Fluency in a major scripting language, and experience in software development is a must. Some background in biology is desirable, but interest in biology and bioinformatics is required. Candidates should be highly motivated and have the ability to work independently. As the research will involve a mix of disciplines, candidates with experience in several fields will be preferred (bioinformatics, genetics, protein structure, computational science, mathematics, physics, statistics). ETH Zurich boasts excellent facilities for studying and recreation. The working language in the laboratory is English, which is also widely used in Switzerland. Zurich is located less than one hour from the Alps, and is a small but vibrant city offering one of the best living standards in the world. Zurich is well connected to major European cities, and has a large international community. Successful applicants will be supervised by Dr Maria Anisimova, whose interests include a variety of topics in Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics. To apply, please send a single PDF file to maria.anisimova@inf.ethz.ch containing: • CV (with publication list if applicable) • a scanned academic transcript (list of grades in university courses) • a short statement of research interests, mentioning research topics of master/diploma theses (not exceeding two pages) • three references Please mention ”PhD position on” in the subject of your e-mail. The position is open until filled (but quick response is recommended). Start date: 1 November 2009 or within three months (negotiable)