Comparative Genomicist: Pain & Welfare Biology Lead

Location: Remote (Global)
Compensation: $65K–$120K USD
Organization Type: Nonprofit – Genetics for Animal Welfare

About the Role:

We’re seeking a comparative genomicist to lead the design of a cross-species framework for avoiding shrimp genotypes linked in humans to severe distress. Lead our program to effectively screen against disorders. For example, one disorder is colloquially dubbed “Man on Fire Syndrome,” resulting in hypersensitivity to pain in species with shared DNA motifs. To be clear, this does not involve gene editing, only selective breeding.

You’ll map shrimp variants to orthologous genes and regulatory regions linked to pain, anxiety, depression, and other welfare-relevant traits in mammals and model species. By screening against these disorders in shrimp, an additional goal is to use this data to improve scientific understanding of primary neurological disorders in humans and other species using large agricultural datasets.

Responsibilities:

 

• Develop and maintain comparative gene panels tied to affective traits across species

• Identify high-risk genotypes and define rules for filtering or flagging them

• Work with quantitative geneticists to prioritize traits for exclusion from breeding

• Track and integrate research on nociception, neurogenetics, and behavioral GWAS

• Communicate findings to animal breeding teams and internal stakeholders

• Identify new candidate genes for improving animal welfare and health

Qualifications:

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• Note, these are ideal. You don’t necessarily have to have them all to be a great choice for the role.

• Experience working with arthropod genomes like shrimp, Drosophila, or crustaceans

• PhD or MSc in Genomics, Functional Genomics, or Evolutionary Biology

• Experience in comparative genomics

• Familiarity with model organism neurogenetics and pain biology

• Strong literature analysis and data curation skills

• Ability to work across novel and evolving biological questions
   

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status.
 

Apply here.​​

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