Postdoc: Czech Republic - Evolutionary Virology

Description: 

Our group studying Evolutionary interactions of the holobiont is recruiting a postdoc in evolutionary virology. We work at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Research Facility Studenec, Czech Academy of Sciences.

The project: 

We are using the well-described species barrier of the European house mouse hybrid zone (HMHZ) as an optimal context to investigate the factors involved in viral emergence with particular focus on recombination and reassortment. For this, we will perform an extensive genomic characterisation of house mouse viruses across the European HMHZ and in the sympatric rodent community using Metagenomic approaches. We will use a probe enrichment step before sequencing to enhance the sensitivity of detection of low-titer viruses and to improve their genome assembly. This characterisation will be performed across our standard transect of the HMHZ, the Bohemia-Bavarian region, but also replicated in the Bulgarian part of the HMHZ where the mouse subspecies came into contact earlier and with different environmental conditions in terms of the sympatric rodent community structure. This will provide power to distinguish virus processes strongly depending of host intrinsic factors from those sensitive to environmental conditions.

Environment: 

The post-doc will work in a small team (https://www.ivb.cz/en/team/holobiont-evolutionary-interactions-group/ ) at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of The Czech Academy of Sciences, at Research Facility Studenec (https://www.ivb.cz/en/workplace/external-research-facility-studenec/ ). The postdoc academic advisors (Joelle Gouy de Bellocq and Stuart J.E. Baird) specialise in evolutionary parasitology, molecular biology and population genetics/genomics. The institute is situated in woods beside a lake in the Czech-Moravian highlands, half an hour from Brno, the second city of the Czech Republic, where there is the large campus of the Masaryk University. The rolling hills and woods of the region are popular with cyclists. At the institute work discussion is in international English. Due to the location of the facility a personal car is useful, but not necessary (there is a train station 10 mins walk from the institute). 

Salary and duration:

The gross monthly salary will be 40,000 CZK + performance bonus. The cost of living in Czech republic is low. Starting date: 1st of January 2023. Subject to yearly review, the position is renewable and funding available till December 2024.