Oportunidades de postdoc y doctorado en un nuevo grupo de investigación enfocado en entomología evolutiva

Oferta compartida por Nuria

Postdoc position in insect genomics

Details

Location: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia
Starting date: June 2023 (start negotiable) for 1-2 years and possible
extension.
Application deadlines: Applications will be evaluated until the position is filled.

Project outline
Organisms often evolve similar adaptations to similar environments in the process of convergent evolution. Such observations suggest that the trajectory of phenotypic evolution is amenable to predictions. Whether the genomic trajectories of convergent organisms are also - in principle - predictable is unclear due to the scarcity of genomic evidence from convergent organismal groups. To answer this fundamental evolutionary question, we are using a model system consisting of rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) and scuttle flies (Phoridae) that adapted more than twenty times repeatedly to live in symbiosis with termites.
The successful candidate will use comparative genomic methods to uncover the extent, the timescale, and the hierarchical level of parallel genome sequence evolution that accompany the evolution of convergent adaptations. He/she will have a head start with analyses of already generated preliminary genomic and phylogenetic sequence datasets while he/she will be building datasets for additional species and will be optionally pursuing his/her independent research questions with our insect model system.

Funding
The successful applicants will be funded by a highly selective research grant JUNIOR STAR GAČR from the Czech Science Foundation. 

We also encourage and offer support to the candidates willing to further strengthen their research profile by applying for independent funding, such as Postdoc individual fellowship (by GAČR = Czech Science Foundation; deadline 4th April 2023), Marie Curie fellowship (deadline September 2023) or EMBO fellowship (deadline August 2023).

We require

• curiosity about evolutionary questions
• motivation to lead research project with domestic and international
• collaborators
• excellent written and spoken communication ability in English
• PhD degree in biology, bioinformatics, or related fields
• experience in phylogenetics and/or genomics 

We offer

• supportive research lab situated within a green campus of a dynamic university 30min from the center of the energetic city of Prague
• competitive starting monthly net salary based on previous experience ~ 1,700-1,900 EUR (~ 125-140% of average net salary in Czechia, note that the living cost is generally lower in Czechia compared to the western Europe); bonuses for publications
• participation in international collaborations (Germany, Japan)

PhD positions in genomic and phenotypic evolution of convergently adapting insect lineages

Location: Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czechia

Starting date: September 2023 (earlier start negotiable)

Application deadlines: Applications will be evaluated until the end of April 2023.

Organisms often evolve similar adaptations to similar environments in the process of convergent evolution. Such observations suggest that the trajectory of phenotypic evolution is amenable to predictions. Whether the genomic trajectories of convergent organisms are also - in principle -predictable is unclear due to the scarcity of genomic evidence from convergent organismal groups. To answer this fundamental evolutionary question, we are using a model system consisting of rove beetles (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) and scuttle flies (Phoridae) that adapted more than twenty times repeatedly to live in symbiosis with termites.

The successful candidate will use phylogenetic methods, comparative analyses of X-ray microtomographic reconstructions of phenotypes, and optionally comparative genomics to infer the trajectories of convergent adaptations. We already generated a series of genome assemblies, large datasets of microtomography data, and have extensive collections of preserved specimens, which will give the PhD candidates a head start with their analyses while they will collect additional data.

The successful applicants will develop their PhD project in a team funded by a highly selective 5-year research grant JUNIOR STAR GAČR from the Czech Science Foundation. 

We require

• curiosity about evolutionary questions
• motivation to lead your own subproject under our supervision
• excellent written and spoken communication ability in English
• MSc degree in biology, bioinformatics, or related fields

We offer

• supportive research lab situated within a green campus of a dynamic university <30min from the center of the energetic city of Prague
• starting monthly net compensation based on previous experience ~ 1,000-1,200 EUR consisting of student scholarship and salary, competitive within Czechia (note that the living cost is generally lower in Czechia compared to the western Europe); bonuses for publications
• participation in international collaborations (Germany, Japan)

We seek candidates with some of the following previous experience (but do not require it)

• insect taxonomy scripting and programming
• wet lab experience with next-generation sequencing
• bioinformatics and next-generation sequence data analysis
• evolutionary biology
• comparative genomics
• phylogenetics
• X-ray microtomography, 3D-morphometry, image analysis

The successful candidates are expected (and will receive support) to develop combination of some of these research skills during their PhD.

We also encourage and offer support to candidates willing to further strengthen their research profile by applying for independent funding, such as Marie Curie fellowship (deadline September 2023).

For more information in any of the above positions, visit https://bucek.ftz.czu.cz/ or contact Ales Bucek (bucek.ales@gmail.com)