July 2004

Paul Higgs
Department of Physics & Astronomy
McMaster University

Dear Prospective Graduate Student,

In September 2002, I took up a position at McMaster as Canada Research Chair in Biophysics. This is a joint appointment between Physics and Biochemistry departments. I am seeking to build my research group and I would be pleased to be contacted by people at Masters, PhD or Post-doctoral levels who would be interested in working with me.

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary subject. This means that you need to understand the ‘bio’ bit and the ‘physics’ bit and do both bits properly. The good news is that you can start from either side.

• If your background is in physical sciences or mathematics, I am looking for someone who is interested in developing mathematical models, theories and simulations to understand problems in biology and statistical physics.
  
  

• If your background is in biological sciences, I am looking for someone who is interested in molecular evolution, phylogenetics, population genetics or genome evolution who wants to use bioinformatics techniques to study biological data.
  
  

• If your background is in computer science, I am looking for someone who wants to design and build bioinformatics software and databases for use in scientific research.

For more details on the subjects we are working on, follow the links to each topic:

• Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetic Methods

• RNA Secondary Structure

• The OGRe Database of Mitochondrial Genomes

• Food Web Structure and Ecological Communities

• Polymers and Soft Condensed Matter

• Population Genetics and Mathematical Biology

If you would like more information on any of these things, please contact me via the email above.

Paul Higgs.