Undergraduate Researchers in the Caporaso Lab develop and support QIIME 2, a leading microbiome bioinformatics platform.

Typically students will:

• contribute to the QIIME 2 ecosystem (Python)
• design and build interactive data visualizations (JavaScript, various frameworks)
• develop bioinformatics plugins (Various languages)
• create and manage product documentation (Jinja2, Sphinx)
• provide user support (Discourse)
• explore DevOps and build pipelines (GitHub Actions)

As members of the Center for Applied Microbiome Science, undergraduates perform bioinformatics analysis on contemporary studies. These contributions yield published work, experience with research design, and valuable collaborative relationships.

In addition to a strong portfolio of GitHub contributions, undergraduate researchers are supported in developing conference posters, presentations, collaborative, and independent research publications. Contributions to lab publications are often welcome, and students co-author publications that they contribute to.

Fully-funded opportunities to travel in support of research products are also frequent. Caporaso Lab students have presented at:

• Rocky Mountain Bioinformatics Conference
• 3rd Workshop on Statistical and Algorithmic Challenges in Microbiome Data Analysis (SACMDA) in New York, NY
• The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC18) in Dallas, TX
• QIIME 2 workshops in Phoenix and Las Vegas

Undergraduates balance diverse responsibilities, and academic performance is top priority. Students are asked to work 10-20 hours per week while school is in session, and may work up to 40 hours during breaks (subject to Northern Arizona University employment policies). Flexible scheduling accommodates coursework and exam requirements.

To work with the Caporaso Lab, students must complete an application to the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, print it, and hand-deliver to PMI during business hours at: Applied Research & Development (building #56). Please deliver your application to the front desk of the PMI Administrative Suite (ARD Suite 210).

After delivering your application, notify Evan Bolyen by email. This will help us access and review your application in a timely manner.

Applications are reviewed three times annually, as follows:

QIIME 2 is free, open, community-driven software. Pull requests are always welcome! If you’re not available for a formal position but would like to contribute, notify the team in a post to our developer discussion, then check out our list of good first issues.

A free, open source interactive text that introduces readers to core concepts of bioinformatics in the context of their implementation and application. IAB is available as a learning resource, and also welcomes community contributions as GitHub pull requests.