PhD position in phylogenomic inference

18 Mar 2025 - Admin

PhD positions are available in our lab at the School of Computing, Australian National University (ANU). We are seeking highly motivated students to work on the next generation of models and methods for phylogenetic analysis in the genomic era. The specific research direction will be shaped by your interests and experience, with potential areas including: developing machine learning methods for phylogenetics; designing efficient algorithms for tree search; co-estimating multiple trees; inferring time trees; modeling evolutions with mixture models; and exploring new approaches for cancer phylogenetics. Students will implement novel models and methods in the widely used IQ-TREE software.

The ANU campus is situated in the heart of Australia’s capital city, Canberra, which has been named the second-best city in the world for quality of life according to the Oxford Economics Global Cities report. ANU holds an international reputation for research excellence and is ranked among the top universities worldwide (30th globally in the QS World University Rankings 2025).

Candidate requirements:

• Excellent programming skills and a solid background in computing, with a degree in computer science or a related field.

• Outstanding academic record, including a high-distinction honours degree, a Master’s by research, or equivalent research experience.

• Biological knowledge is beneficial but not essential; high school-level biology is sufficient.

• Good oral and written English skills.

Scholarship opportunities: ANU scholarships are competitive, covering all fees and providing a stipend of approximately $38K per annum. There are multiple scholarship opportunities available - please refer to the list below this post for more details.

How to apply?

Please email m.bui (at) anu.edu.au with the following:

• A detailed CV.

• Full academic transcripts.

• A written statement explaining why you would be a good fit for the lab.

• A brief description of your research interests and how they intersect with this project.

The next scholarship round closes in August 2025; please contact us by 30 June 2025 to discuss your proposal and strengthen your application for better scholarship chances.