Doctoral candidate position with a research focus on plankton-parasite interactions

Doctoral candidate position with a research focus on plankton-parasite interactions

The position is located in the Department of Biology, University of Turku, Finland. The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education. The city of Turku offers a variety of cultural activities and is the gateway to one of the world’s most beautiful archipelagos.

The candidate will work on an Academy of Finland-funded project “Fungal parasitism along a salinity gradient: an overlooked driver of marine phytoplankton blooms” (led by Dr Silke Van den Wyngaert). The fixed-term position will start at April 1st 2022, or as soon as possible thereafter, and continue for three years.

Project and job description

Phytoplankton form the base of aquatic food webs and are responsible for more than 40% of total carbon fixation. Changes in the magnitude of aquatic primary production consequently has a strong impact on nutrient cycling, atmospheric CO2 and hence Earth's climate. The enigmatic fungal phylum Chytridiomycota was recently shown to comprise lineages that are obligate parasites of marine phytoplankton, including toxic dinoflagellates and diatom species. This highlights the urgent need to characterize their role in controlling the magnitude and composition of phytoplankton blooms in marine ecosystems. Moreover, climate change is affecting ocean salinity and how this will affect the diversity, distribution and interaction between parasitic chytrids and their phytoplankton hosts is unknown. The unique salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea, one of the largest brackish ecosystems in the world, constitutes an ideal model system where the study of chytrids and their interaction with phytoplankton in response to salinity can be implemented in a natural setting and extrapolated to other coastal areas in the world. The project will combine field surveys in the Baltic Sea with controlled experiments and will use cultivation, microscopy, and high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing approaches to characterize biodiversity as well as identify conditions optimal and detrimental for parasite transmission along natural salinity gradients.

The candidate will be responsible for isolating and cultivating relevant phytoplankton and parasite strains as well as for conducting field-sampling campaigns, laboratory experiments, sample analyses, computational data analyses, and finally drafting the study outcome for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

Qualification requirements

The applicants are expected to have a relevant MSc degree. The ability and willingness to conduct fieldwork and participate in Baltic Sea sampling campaigns are a prerequisite. Experience with molecular work and bioinformatics, in particular analysis of NGS data, is considered a benefit. The applicants are expected to plan and conduct experiments independently and to have good communication skills in English.

The eligibility criteria are defined in the rules of procedure of the University of Turku .

There will be a trial period of 6 months.

Salary

The salary for doctoral candidate is in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel levels 2–4 where the work-specific salary component is between 2078,27 – 2591,28 euros per month. The component based on personal performance adds a minimum of 6 % and a maximum of 50 % to the base salary.

Applications

Applications must be submitted by Friday 11th of March, 2022 (23:59), using the electronic application form of the University of Turku on the following address: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies
The link to the application system is at the beginning of this announcement (Apply for the job).

Please include the following information and documents (in English) with your application

• Motivation letter, explaining your qualifications and interest for this position (max. 1 page)
• Curriculum Vitae, including the contact details of 2 reference persons (max. 2 pages)
• Copy of degree certificate confirming that the applicant meets the entry requirements into the Ph.D. program

We reserve the right for justified reasons to leave the position open and to extend the application period if needed.

The University is committed to promoting non-discrimination, equality and diversity in our community. All interested applicants, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply.

For further information about the position, please contact Silke Van den Wyngaert, [email protected] .