Postdoc position: “to carryout lipidomic data analysis” – Deadline 12 April 2024

The Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry (MMB) of NIOZ is looking for an experienced, responsible and proactive postdoctoral researcher to carryout lipidomic data analysis.

ROYAL NIOZ

NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

THE DEPARTEMENT

The Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, studies microbial communities and their functioning in all types of marine environments, from estuaries to the deep ocean, from tropical coral reefs to polar regions, and from the present to the past. The department has well-equipped molecular, chemical and microbiological laboratories, and state-of-the-art facilities for isotope and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The department is international and dynamic and has approximately 80 members, including PhD students, postdocs and Master students from more than 15 different countries. A group of sixteen staff scientists (PI, principal investigator), and fifteen research assistants form the core of the department. Nearly half of the core staff was recruited in the last six years leading to a young, vibrant, diverse and multidisciplinary department.

THE VACANCY

The department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry is looking for an enthusiastic and independent postdoc to carry out lipidomic data analysis. This will involve using software to process and analyze high resolution accurate mass mass spectrometry data. The candidate must be familiar with the lipidomic pipeline developed in our department. Furthermore they need to have an excellent track record of intact polar lipid identification, in particular of novel lipids. They need to understand how to integrate lipidomic data with other datasets, such as genomics and environmental factors, to study the mechanisms underlying changes in the lipidome. The position will start June 2024 and will run for 18 months.

THE PROJECT

We have recently applied state-of-the-art mass spectrometry and computational workflows to determine the full lipidome of the water column from the Black Sea, which ranges from fully oxic to fully anoxic. This approach allowed us to compile in-depth information about the chemical structure of the lipidome and to identify previously unknown complex lipids. In this proposed research, we will compile a combined lipidomic dataset comprising eight globally distributed marine settings, which cover a large range of oxygen concentrations, from fully oxygenated open oceans to anoxic basins. The lipidomic dataset will be integrated with physicochemical parameters, using multivariate linear regressions, to evaluate the relationships between different environmental parameters and the composition of the lipidome. This will allow us to quantify the effect of individual environmental parameters, especially oxygen, on individual components of the lipidome. This will ultimately allow us to better understand the relationship between oxygen and the composition of the microbial lipidome and in turn improve predictions of how the composition of the global marine microbial lipidome will change as oceans lose oxygen.

THE CANDIDATE

• A master and PhD in Chemistry or Organic Geochemistry
• Research experience in Marine Lipidomics
• The candidate must be familiar with the lipidomic pipeline developed in our department and have an excellent track record of intact polar lipid identification
• The candidate should possess a strong background in statistical analysis of large datasets and have an interest in data handling.
• They should have excellent writing and presentation skills.

We want to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence.

CONDITIONS

• Employment of this full-time position at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I for a duration of 18 months.
• Salary compliant with CAO-WVOI  (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes) scale 10 or 11 depending on relevant experience.
• The freedom to fulfill your role and space and opportunities for your personal (talent) development with the help of the NIOZ Academy.
• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.
• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%.
• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%.
• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.
• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

MORE INFORMATION
For additional information about this vacancy, please contact Nicole Bale For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl

Closing date for this vacancy is April 12, 2024