Jobs & Scholarships

Research Schools of Chemistry & Environment wish to appoint 6 PhD fellows in the following themes by research school, for 3 years starting on September 1st, 2008.

Successful applicants will enrol at the Faculty of LIFE Sciences, University of Copenhagen, under the auspices of the specific research school. The individual research school administers a special study programme for PhD fellows within their field of research.

Graduate School on Metal Ions in Biological Systems (MIBS)

1. Spectroscopic and Kinetic Characterization of Native and Designed Multicopper Oxidases

Department of Natural Sciences in collaboration with Novozymes A/S wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in Spectroscopic and Kinetic Characterization of Native and Designed Multicopper Oxidases from 1 September 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Bioinorganic chemistry.

The PhD project is focusing on laccases. A kinetic analysis of provided wild-type and mutant laccases will enable establishment of correlations between the screening assays and enzyme kinetics which is essential for laccase optimization and wild-type screening. The project will also focus on the connection between the redox potential and substrate oxidation/electron transfer. Characterization of the Cu centres is crucial to gain insight into the effect of specific mutations on the basic features of the proteins and it will require redox-potential determination, UV-Vis, stopped-flow, CD & EPR measurements, as well as other methods.

The appointed should have experience within one or more of the following areas:

Spectroscopy on metal ions in model systems and/or in biological systems
Structure and function of metal ion containing enzymes and proteins
Inorganic coordination chemistry
Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

Familiar with writing and speaking English. KU generally encourages employees who do not speak Danish to acquire a working knowledge of the language.
The Ph.D. fellow is required to have initiative and research potential, to be enterprising and have ability to work as part of a team.
Questions

For further information about the post, please contact professor Morten J. Bjerrum. on tel. (+45) 35 33 24 52

Research School of Environmental Chemistry, Microbiology and Toxicology (RECETO)

2. Modeling helminth and protozoan parasite eggs in low quality water to be used for food production.

Department of Veterinary Pathobiology wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in Modeling helminth and protozoan parasite eggs in low quality water to be used for food production from 1 September 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Environmental Hygiene.

The appointee should have qualifications within the following areas:

Parasitology
Statistical analysis and modelling
Environmental microbiology
Water resources
The overall goal of this project is to establish models of the fate of helminth and protozoan parasite eggs in low quality water to be used for sustainable and safe food production. Fecal contaminated water of different types is increasingly used worldwide, in particular in southern Europe, northern Africa and certain parts of Asia, for irrigation in agriculture and horticulture. This is mainly due to increasing problems with water scarcity, limited availability of clear water, and competition between cities and agriculture on water. However, little is known about the sedimentation, transport and overall fate of parasite eggs in such water. One specific goal is to determine and assess the importance of key hydrologic and environmental factors affecting sedimentation, survival and infectivity of parasite eggs in low quality water, e.g. wastewater. Another is to establish new and further develop existing hydrologic models for the prediction of the fate of parasite eggs in low quality water.

The project will rely on existing methodologies from parasitology and environmental microbiology to determine the occurrence, survival and infectivity of parasites eggs in low quality water. Models developed by the DHI Water, Environment and Health and other relevant models will be used to develop new models for fate of parasite eggs in low quality water.

The Ph.D. student will be enrolled at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The project involves collaboration with research partners at both KU-Life, The DHI Water, Environment and Health and KU-Sund.

Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

The position will be appointed to a candidate with experience in one or more of the following areas: parasitology, environmental hygiene, and statistics/modeling. The candidate should be willing to spend stay(s) with foreign research partners. The Ph.D. fellow is also required to have research potential, to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills.

Questions

For further information about the post, please contact Professor Anders Dalsgaard. on tel. (+45) 35 33 2720 or ad[a-t]life.ku.dk.

3. The nitrogen cycle and its influence on the European greenhouse gas balance: Plant-atmosphere NH3/N2O fluxes and their interactions with plant metabolism and soil nitrogen availability

The Plant and Soil Science Laboratory at Department of Agricultural Sciences wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in The nitrogen cycle and its influence on the European greenhouse gas balance: Plant-atmosphere NH3/N2O fluxes and their interactions with plant metabolism and soil nitrogen availability from 1 August 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Plant Nutrition and Plant-Environment Interactions. The appointee will conduct Ph.D. thesis research and contribute to work including:

Construction and operation of advanced systems for measurement of gas fluxes between plants and the atmosphere
Controlled environment studies of plant-atmosphere gas fluxes in relation to physiological and environmental parameters
Parameterization of gas fluxes based on biochemical and molecular studies of intra-cellular metabolic processes and transport steps
The Ph.D. project is linked to the large EU-funded project NitroEurope (www.nitroeurope.eu) and may involve participation in joint field campaigns outside Denmark.
Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

Passed Master´s degree in plant biology or biogeochemistry.
The Ph.D. fellow is also required to have research potential, technical and analytical skills and to be enterprising.
Good interpersonal skills. The project will offer excellent possibilities for international collaboration.
Questions

For further information about the post, please contact professor Jan K. Schioerring on e-mail jks[a-t]life.ku.dk, tel. (+45) 35 33 34 95 or (+45) 2371 00 02.

4. Impacts of organic amendments and field-scale heterogeneity on the structure and function of bacterial degrader communities.

Department of Ecology wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in Impacts of organic amendments and field-scale heterogeneity on the structure and function of bacterial degrader communities from 1 September 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Environmental Microbiology.

The appointee should have qualifications within the following areas:

Soil Microbiology
Microbial community analysis
Statistical analysis
Environmental chemistry
The overall goal of this project is to understand how relevant agricultural treatments such as sludge/manure application affect abundance and diversity of degrader communities and their pollutant mineralization activities in soil. One specific goal is to determine if field-scale heterogeneity (size of sludge/manure aggregates, different mixing ratios and modes of application) affect structure and function of microbial degrader communities. Another is to determine if toxic antimicrobials (e.g. sulfa drugs) and metals present in sludge/manure affect microbial biodegradation.

The project will rely on existing methodologies from environmental chemistry and microbiology to determine microbial degradation and composition of microbial communities in soil. Such assays involve radioisotope assays and molecular techniques to study bacterial community diversity based on DNA sequence data from soil. The project will include a new design of improved sampling strategies and data handling to study heterogeneity at different scales in soil.

The Ph.D. student will be enrolled at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The project involves collaboration with research partners at both KU-Life, KU-Farma, DTU and GEUS within the frame of the research Center CREAM (Center for Environmental and Agricultural Microbiology).

Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

The position will be appointed to a candidate with experience in environmental microbiology, preferably coupled to knowledge in environmental chemistry. Hands-on experience in determining soil microbial diversity and process activities and an interest for developing new assay formats using different sampling strategies and scales in natural soil will be an advantage. The Ph.D. fellow is also required to have research potential, to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills.

Questions

For further information about the post, please contact professor Jan Sørensen on tel. (+45) 35 33 2626 (jan@life.ku.dk) or associate professor Kristian Brandt on tel. (+45) 3533 2612 (kkb@life.ku.dk).

5. Whole cell biosensors for toxic metals on an optical fibre platform.

Department of Ecology wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in Whole cell biosensors for toxic metals on an optical fibre platform from 1 September 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Environmental Microbiology.

The appointee should have qualifications within the following areas:

General Microbiology
Marker or reporter gene technology
Miniaturization of biosensing systems
Environmental chemistry
The overall goal of this project is to develop new sensors for analysis of specific toxic metals in drinking and industrial water. The possibility to determine pollutant bioavailability makes bacterial whole cell biosensors a useful supplement to chemical methods. Other important advantages of the biosensors are rapid performance and low cost. Whole-cell biosensor technology coupled to optical fibres is useful to obtain continuous quantitative analysis. By this approach the biosensor cells are typically immobilized, and their signal is transmitted through the optic fibres to be finally analysed by light sensitive instrumentation.

The project will rely on existing bioluminescent bacterial biosensors for the metals copper and nickel. Major research tasks include optimization of the shelf life and long-term stability of the microbial biosensors and the subsequent development of miniature fibre optic spectrophotometric instrumentation.

The Ph.D. student will be enrolled at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The project involves collaboration with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Department of Micro and Nanotechnology, the Technical University of Denmark within the frames of the collaborative project SENSOWAQ and the research Center CREAM (Center for Environmental and Agricultural Microbiology).

Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

The position will be appointed to a candidate with experience in environmental microbiology, preferably coupled to knowledge in environmental chemistry. Hands-on experience in bacterial marker or reporter gene technology and an interest for developing technical solutions regarding miniature assay formats will be an advantage. The Ph.D. fellow is also required to have research potential, to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills.

Questions

For further information about the post, please contact associate professors Ole Nybroe on tel. (+45) 35 33 2629 (oln[a-t]life.ku.dk) or associate professor Kristian Brandt on tel. (+45) 3533 2612 (kkb[a-t]life.ku.dk), or professor Jens Aamand on tel. (+45) 3814 2326 (jeaa[a-t]geus.dk)

6. Microscale heterogeneity and its influence on soil contaminant degradation, metabolite formation and leaching to the groundwater.

Department of Ecology wishes to appoint a Ph.D. fellow in Microscale heterogeneity and its influence on soil contaminant degradation, metabolite formation and leaching to the groundwater from 1 September 2008, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

With reference to the project manager, the work of the Ph.D. fellow will consist mainly of duties in connection with research and development within Environmental Microbiology.

The appointee should have qualifications within the following areas:

General microbiology
Soil microbiology
Analytical chemistry
Environmental fate of organic chemicals
The overall goal is to study how spatial distribution of soil contaminants and contaminant-degrading bacteria at the small, micro- to macroaggregate scale affects the overall degradation rate, metabolite accumulation and leaching of organic contaminants towards the groundwater. Effects of root development on the distribution of degrader organisms and their activity will also be studied.

The project will rely on existing methodologies from environmental microbiology to detect and quantify specific populations or functional groups of contaminant-degrading microorganisms in soil, e.g. fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry and PCR-based assays. High-sensitivity detection of contaminants and degradation metabolites will be performed using radioisotope assays coupled to HPLC- or MS-based detection.

The PhD student will be enrolled at the Faculty of Life Science, University of Copenhagen and employed at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS). The project involves collaboration with research partners at both KU-Life, KU-Farma, DTU and GEUS within the frame of the research Center CREAM (Center for Environmental and Agricultural Microbiology).

Qualification requirements

In connection with the appointment to the post special importance will be attached to the applicant having the professional and personal qualifications stated below:

The position will be appointed to a candidate with experience in environmental microbiology, preferably coupled to knowledge in environmental chemistry. Hands-on experience with DNA/RNA based techniques for quantification of specific bacteria and with analytiical techniques for organic contaminants in soil will be an advantage. The Ph.D. fellow is also required to have research potential, to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills.

Questions

For further information about the post, please contact Professor Jens Aamand on tel. (+45) 3814 2326 (jeaa@geus.dk) or professor Jan Sørensen on tel. (+45) 3528 2626 (jan@life.ku.dk).

General terms of employment

Employment and remuneration will be according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations.

The post will be filled according to the Agreement between the Danish Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The post is covered by the Protocol on Job Structure.

General questions regarding PhD programmes should be directed to Course Administration c/o Special Advisor Michael Cleve Hansen on phone (+45) 3533 2056 or Head Clerk Lillian Zeuthen Bjørnseth on phone (+45) 3533 2172. Further information on PhD programmes is available at www.uk.life.ku.dk >Present students > PhD programmes > Regulations.

Application

The application should be submitted in 3 copies (sorted); therefore it is not possible to receive the application by e-mail. The application must include a reply e-mail address. Each application must include the following appendices marked with the stated appendix numbers:

Appendix 1: curriculum vitae with documentation of education.

Appendix 2: material required for expert assessment.

In addition to the material submitted by the applicant the Assessment Committee may require further material in its assessment of the applicant. In this case it is the responsibility of the applicant, on request, to send the material to the Committee.

Following processing of the application, any application material sent will be destroyed.

Receipt of the application will not be acknowledged, but the applicant will continuously be kept informed of the progress of the application.

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation Executive Order no. 92 of 15 February 2008.

The application, marked 625-92 should be sent to Cluster of Research Schools – Chemistry & Environment, The Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Natural Sciences, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, where it must be received no later than 1 June 2008 at 12.00 noon. Applications received after the closing date for applications will not be considered.

The Faculty of Life Sciences is one of Europe´s leading university environments in the areas of food, health, plants, biotechnology, natural resources, the environment and related academic areas.Our research and degree programmes are centred on knowledge and tools that can help secure a brighter future for humans, animals and plants.

Read more about The Faculty of Life Sciences at www.life.ku.dk/English

The Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia invites applications for Ph.D. candidates interested in the effects of climate and land use change on biogeochemical cycling. The candidates will work as on an interdisciplinary project examining the effects climate change and agricultural activity on nutrient cycling and nutrient limitation in large river basins, including the Mississippi.

The graduate students will work with Professor Simon Donner and colleagues on development of numerical models of nitrogen and phosphorus transport through large river systems, integration of large-scale physical and socioeconomic datasets, and analysis the
trade-offs between agricultural production, water quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Financial support will be provided through a combination of an NSERC research grant and other research and teaching funds.

Interested candidates should possess a Master’s degree in a relevant area of environmental science, ecology, or geography. Experience with numerical modeling and data visualization is highly desirable. An interest in exploring the policy implications of agricultural activity is also desirable. Please send expressions of interest and a c.v. to Prof. Simon Donner (simon.donner@ubc.ca), Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, 1984 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z2.

Eawag is the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology, a Swiss-based and internationally operating aquatic research institute within the ETH domain.

The Department Aquatic Ecology (group of Bas Ibelings) seeks for

PhD student in host-parasite interactions

The PhD student will participate in a collaborative research project GEDIHAP with several other PhD students and host-parasite researchers from the ETH Zürich, the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research, WSL, and Eawag to study the influence of environmental factors (natural and human induced) on host – parasite interactions. In the project the impact of 2 environmental stress factors (climate change and water pollution) on the population dynamics and co-evolution of the diatom Asterionella formosa and parasitic chytrid fungi is studied.

For this, from CCESS (Competence Center Environment and Sustainability of the ETH Domain) financed project, we are looking for a highly motivated candidate with an interest in evolutionary biology, population genetics and host-parasite interactions. The research is balanced mixture of field and lab based studies, experiments will be done under controlled conditions in the lab as well as under natural conditions in lakes. Hosts and parasites will be screened using molecular tools like microsatellites, which are available for both. Part of the work will be done in the Netherlands.

We offer a stimulating research environment in a lively and social institute in Kastanienbaum (near Luzern) and Dübendorf (near Zürich) in a department with several other evolutionary and ecological research groups with a focus on host parasite interactions. The PhD candidate will be actively involved in workshops and courses organized within the GEDIHAP framework. The position will be for a period of three years, and should start as soon as possible (August 2008 or soon thereafter). The ideal candidate has both experimental as well as molecular skills (PCR, sequencing, genotyping). A Diploma or Master degree or equivalent) in biology or related subject is necessary for admission. The working language in the group is English.

Applications should include a letter of interest with a description of pertinent experience, curriculum vitae, a list of publications (if any), the names (with e-mail address) of two potential references, and copies of the certificates of academic qualifications.

Please submit your application by 1 June 2008 as one PDF file to Sandra Isenring, Eawag, Human Resources Department: recruiting@eawag.ch, indicating reference number 084401. For further information, consult http://www.cces.ethz.ch/projects/feh/GEDIHAP or contact Bas Ibelings (Tel + 41 41 349 2174), bas.ibelings@eawag.ch

A graduate position in Aquatic Microbial Ecology at the Ph.D. or M.Sc. level is available in the laboratory of Dr. Steven Short at the University of Toronto Mississauga, starting in 2009.

I am looking for a motivated student interested in microbial ecology, aquatic microbiology, and molecular biology. My research focuses on the role of viruses in phytoplankton population and community ecology. To better understand the complex interactions of phytoplankton and their viruses, I use quantitative molecular techniques to examine their community composition and dynamics in natural environments and laboratory cultures. I encourage all interested students to contact me to discuss potential projects.

The successful candidate will be enrolled through the University of Toronto Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). All EEB graduate students, whether domestic or international, in the MSc program or the first four years of a PhD program (first five years if entering directly from a bachelor’s) are guaranteed a minimum annual stipend ($22,629 for domestic students for the 2007/2008 academic year).

Potential applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.20 (on a four-point system). Canadian citizens will be given first priority, but qualified international students are encouraged to apply. Interested candidates should submit a one-page cover letter describing their interest in my research program, a current copy of their CV and a transcript of their academic record via email to steven.short@utoronto.ca.

For more information see http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3bio/faculty_and_research/short.htm or http://www.eeb.utoronto.ca

Thesis Subject – Diversity, speciation and phylogeography of marine planktonic protists.

principal location: Unité d’Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution UMR 8079, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay.

Thesis supervisors : P. Lopez-Garcia, D. Moreira (Orsay) http://www.ese.u-psud.fr/microbiologie/
J.R. Dolan (Station Zoologique de Villefranche) http://www.obs vlfr.fr/~dolan/index.php

Planktonic microorganisms are the base of aquatic ecosystems. Traditionally, these organisms have been identified and classified using morphological and structural characteristics revealed by light and electron microscopy. Despite a relatively small number of characteristics, a multitude of species, often co-existing, have been catalogued many with very wide geographic distributions (the ‘paradox of the plankton’). Remarkably, new data from molecular biology (e.g., amplification, cloning and sequencing of 18s rRNA) has shown that traditional species can represent groups of cryptic species, that is forms which are morphologically similar but genetically distinct, adapted to different ecological conditions. On the other hand, many protists are variable in morphology so some catalogued species may not be species but rather variants. Thus, at present, the extent and nature of planktonic protist diversity is unknown despite their key position in aquatic food webs.

The research proposed focuses on tintinnid ciliates; a species-rich group of marine ciliates easily identified (and traditionally classified) via the shell, or lorica, morphology. The types of hypotheses to be examined include: i) common, wide-spread forms are in reality assemblages of cryptic species, that is morphologically similar, but genetically distinct forms, ii) genetically distinct forms are adapted to distinct ecological conditions, iii) distinct cryptic species can co-exist in the same locality, iv) some apparently perennial species actually represent a succession of cryptic species.

The hypotheses will be evaluated by exploring the morphological, genetic and physiological diversity of tintinnids commonly found in coastal marine waters. The primary focus will be on species found in the N.W. Mediterranean Sea. The genetic structure of tintinnids will be studied at different scales of time and space using single-cell techniques and cultures; several genetic markers will be targeted (rRNA, ITS, proteins). Genetic analyses will be coupled with morphometric and physiological analyses. In parallel, development of specific primers for tintinnids will be used to evaluate presence and diversity in different oceanic regions.
The study will furnish data which will improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the adaptation, speciation and ecology of planktonic protists. The major part of the work will consist of employment of molecular lab techniques (classic PCR and single-cell techniques) and data analysis (genetic and phylogenic analysis) coupled with morphological and physiological studies of selected taxa.

A fellowship is available, financed by the ANR Biodiversity project ‘”Aquaparadox”. The multi-institution project will facilitate collaboration for the student. The thesis will be conducted at the University of Paris-Sud and directed by P. López-García and D. Moreira (Univ. Paris-Sud) and secondarily by J. Dolan (Station Zoologique, Villefranche-sur-Mer). The study will include field work (2 – 4 weeks per year) at the Zoological Station in Villefranche. French language skills are desirable but not required.

Background information on the topic:
Dolan, J.R. 2005. An introduction to the biogeography of aquatic microbes. Aquat Microb Ecol 41: 39-48.
Slapeta, J., Moreira, D. & López-García, P. (2005) The extent of protist diversity: insights from molecular ecology of freshwater environments. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 272: 2073-2081.
Dolan, J.R., Jacquet, S., Torreton, J.-P. 2006. Comparing taxonomic and morphological biodiversity of tintinnids (planktonic ciliates) of New Caledonia. Limnol Oceanogr 51:950-958.
Slapeta, J., López-García, P., Moreira, D. 2006. Global dispersal and ancient cryptic species in the smallest marine eukaryotes. Mol Biol Evol 23: 23-29

Contacts : puri.lopez@u-psud.fr, david.moreira@u-psud.fr