Location: Bremerhaven, Germany

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and funded by federal and state government. AWI focuses on polar and marine research in a variety of disciplines such as biology, oceanography, geology and geophysics thus allowing multidisciplinary approaches to scientific goals.

Within the EU Project MARFOR we invite applications for two positions as?

PhD students

Background and tasks:
Within the EU Project MARFOR we offer two doctoral positions to study adaptation and acclimation of coastal habitat forming Brown Algae (kelps) along a geographical gradient from Portugal to Spitsbergen in order to elucidate the functional and adaptive potential of kelps under an expected future warming scenario. Different kelp species and their populations will be characterized regarding their genomes, their transcriptomic and physiological responses to different temperature regimes, and the genetics of functional traits. Work includes culturing, identification and quantification of developmental stages, determination of physiological traits of kelps (gametogenesis, sporogenesis, growth, recruitment, photosynthesis, biochemical traits), experimental treatments in the laboratory, verification of recruitment success in the field, extraction of nucleic acids, and bioinformatic analyses of genomes and transcriptomes. One position is more centered around genomic and bioinformatic analyses whereas the other is more focused on kelp ecology, the establishment of treatment conditions, and eco-physiological measurements. This work will be embedded in an international consortium, MARFOR, including laboratories all over Europe.

Requirements:
We are seeking two master students, ideally with background in algal biology and culture techniques and molecular techniques (DNA and RNA extraction, (q)PCR) interested in strong collaborative research within an exciting international consortium of kelp and molecular biological experts. A plus would be familiarity with R, assembly software, or handling of large molecular data sets. Good skills in spoken and written English are mandatory.

For further information, please contact Dr. Klaus-Ulrich Valentin (klaus.valentin@awi.de), Dr. Inka Bartsch (inka.bartsch@awi.de) or Prof. Dr. Glöckner (gernot.gloeckner@uni-koeln.de).

The positions are limited to 3 years. The salary will be paid in accordance with the German Tarifvertrag des öffentlichen Dienstes (TVöD Bund), salary level 13 (66%). The positions will be based at Alfred Wegener Institute Bremerhaven for experimental work and at University Cologne for bioinformatics analyses. Ideally you should be able to start between January 1st and February 1st, 2017.

We offer you a multi-disciplinary, international, and fascinating professional environment with flexible working hours, state-of-the-art research equipment, and a first-rate infrastructure.
Disabled applicants will be given preference when equal qualifications are present. The AWI fosters the compatibility of work and family through various means. Because of our engagement in the area of work-life compatibility we have been awarded the certificate “Career and Family”.
As Ph.D. student at AWI you will be member of the Helmholtz Graduate School for Polar and Marine Research ‘POLMAR’ (http://polmar.awi.de) or another graduate school.

Please forward your applications with the standard documentation (cover letter with motivation, CV, detailed list of skills and PDFs of publications) by December 12th, 2016 referencing code 138/D/Bio to: Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Personalabteilung (human resources), Postfach 12 01 61, 27515 Bremerhaven/Germany or by e-mail (all documents merged into one PDF file) to: personal@awi.de.


Dr. Inka Bartsch

Alfred-Wegener-Institute
Helmholtz-Centre for Polar- and Marine Research
Section Functional Ecology – Rocky Shore Ecology
Am Handelshafen 12
27570 Bremerhaven
Germany

Tel. ++49 (0)471 4831 1404
FAX ++49 (0)471 4831 1425
email: Inka.Bartsch@awi.de

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