PhD student (m/f/d) “Evolution of molluscan adaptations”

Job posting ref. #01-21053

For over 200 years the Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung represents one of the most relevant institutions investigating nature and its diversity. Currently, scientists from more than 40 countries conduct research in the fields of biodiversity, earth system analysis and climate change in seven Senckenberg Institutes across Germany.

Following its mission to analyse and document biodiversity in earth system dynamics – to serve science and society, Senckenberg fosters curiosity-driven and application-oriented research. In Senckenberg at Frankfurt we seek to fill the position with a

PhD student (m/f/d)

“Evolution of molluscan adaptations”

(part-time, 65%)

The project PHENOME (from Phenome to genome: How Exceptional Novelties Open the Mechanisms of Evolution) is a five-year project examining extraordinary molluscs funded by the Leibniz Association. The work will also benefit from close connection to the Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA), a new project combining marine biodiversity research, species conservation, and science communication.

A funded PhD student will be trained in specialist lab techniques to describe the anatomy of the focal species, none of which have been visualised using 3D techniques. These descriptive studies will provide a new comparative context to interpret the morphofunction of special structures and adaptive novelties. This will be complemented with additional phylogenetic analyses, adding additional transcriptome data from other ingroup species where possible to test the phylogenetic placement of the comparative sets (target species with novel body plans, and comparative groups).

Your tasks:

• Study morphological and genomic differentiation in select mollusc lineages representing extreme morphological adaptations
• Using tomographic visualisation (digital 3D models) to describe and understand evolutionary novelties
• Work collaboratively with bioinformatics specialists to compare analyse genomic data
• Conduct research visits to partnering institutions
• Publish results in international journals in cooperation with the project team
• Present project results during international scientific conferences (posters/ talks)
• Participate in outreach activities