Postdoctoral Researcher | Computational Biologist | PhD
Weigel Lab · Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen
📧 mulamajose@gmail.com | j.atemia@fz-juelich.de
🔗 LinkedIn
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, specializing in plant genomics and population genomics. My research leverages large-scale genomic data and computational approaches to uncover the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms underlying genetic diversity, adaptation, and phenotypic variation in plants.
Current Research: I investigate the genomics of Cucumis metuliferus (Horned melon), integrating genome-wide association studies, population genomics, and transcriptomic analyses to link genetic variation with ecological adaptation and agronomic traits.
Background: PhD in Bioinformatics from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where I conducted comprehensive genomic studies of teosinte (Zea mays ssp.), the wild relative of cultivated maize, to identify genetic resources for climate-resilient crop breeding.
- NGS Genomics — whole genome/transcriptome sequencing & analysis
- Population Genetics & Phylogenetics
- Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS)
- RNA-Seq — data processing and differential expression analysis
- Bioinformatics Tool Development
- Machine Learning in genomics
| Category | Tools & Technologies |
|---|---|
| Languages | Python, R, Bash |
| HPC / Computing | SLURM, Sun Grid Engine, Git |
| NGS Analysis | Alignment, assembly, annotation, variant calling |
| Statistics | Linear/mixed models, multivariate analysis, GWAS |
| Wet Lab | DNA/RNA extraction, quantification, PCR |
- Investigating genetic variation and adaptation in C. metuliferus using GWAS, population genomics, and transcriptomics.
- Linking genotype to phenotype for ecologically and agronomically relevant traits.
- Researched genetic diversity and local adaptation in Zea mays subsp. (teosinte) to identify traits for crop improvement under environmental stresses.
- Managed end-to-end genomic data analysis pipelines, from raw sequencing data to biological insights.
- Contributed knowledge to conservation and climate-resilient crop breeding initiatives.
- A web-based tool designed to help researchers explore and interactively visualize complex gene expression datasets.
- Enables exploration of plant omics data directly in the browser — no installation required.
- A Rust-based tool that streamlines protein sequence annotation for genomics research.
- Automates the process of generating human-readable descriptions for predicted protein sequences.
- Analyzed whole genome sequences to uncover genetic diversity and migration dynamics of the finger millet blast pathogen across Eastern Africa.
- Applied bioinformatics pipelines for SNP detection, population clustering, and diversity metrics.
-
Pan-genome Analyses of 226 Finger Millet-Infecting Magnaporthe oryzae Strains from Eastern Africa
Peng Qi, Bochra A. Bahri, Jie Zhu, Hallie C. Wright, Kathryn A. Prado, Yunus Sahin, Hao Wang, Dong Won Kim, Brandon Mangum, Jane Grimwood, Jerry Jenkins, Joseph M. Atemia, et al. — bioRxiv, 2025
Read preprint -
From Habitat to Genotype: The Complex Interplay of Climate, Phenotypes, and Taxonomy in Teosinte
Joseph Atemia†, Wegier Ana, Rivera-Rodríguez Diana, et al.
Read preprint -
GXP: Analyze and Plot Plant Omics Data in Web Browsers
Constantin Eiteneuer†, David Velasco†, Joseph Atemia†, et al. — Plants, 2022
Read publication
| Year | Conference | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | International Plant & Animal Genome Conference (PAG) | San Diego, USA |
| 2022 | German Conference on Bioinformatics (GCB) | Halle (Saale), Germany |
| 2020 | International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) | Virtual |
| 2020 | Horticultural Association of Kenya Conference | Virtual |
- Helmholtz HIDA Incubator Summer Academy — Statistical Learning, Jülich, Germany
- Advanced Bioinformatics (AfriBOP 2019) — Facilitator, Kenya
- Data Mining & Integration (NoSQL, SPARQL) — Pwani University, Kenya
- EuPathDB & CliniEpiDB Data Resources Workshop — icipe, Kenya
- Africa Society for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (ASBCB)
- Rotary International — Rotaract Club of Kilifi