CURRENT OPENINGS
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A PhD contract for 4 years 2023-2028 (FPI)
The project is associated to the recently funded project (PID2022-141627NB-I00): "The island syndrome: toward an integration of life history traits, gut symbionts and population dynamics (ISLAB)."
Specific PhD project: “Host-gut microbiota coevolution in insular populations of Podarcis lilfordi lizards from the Balearic Islands (Spain)”. The project aims at combining multi-omics with host metadata to understand the role of gut symbiosis in shaping insular adaptation. The goal is to understand the strength of the symbiosis over a short-evolutionary time frame (across populations) and the potential role of the gut microbiome in extending host fitness landscape in resource-limited environments.
The PhD candidate will work at the University of Barcelona (lab webpage) in collaboration with the Animal Demography and Ecology Unit (blogspot) at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) in Mallorca (Spain).
The project will include:
- Field sampling in the Balearic Islands
- Gut microbiomics (16S full-length, shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics)
- Diet metabarcoding
- Data integration at the host individual (sex, age, morphometrics, genetics) and population/island level (life history traits, demography, diet, ecology)
Ideal graduate candidates will have:
- A bachelor’s degree in a field of biological sciences, and some prior research experience on microbial analysis/microbiota
- Research and theoretical proficiency in microbiology, ecology, and bioinformatics (use of R language)
- A strong interest in interdisciplinary research, with a focus on biological questions rather than the particular model organism.
- Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
Timing: August-September 2023 candidate pre-screening and interview. Expected incorporation in last trimester 2023 or beginning of 2024.
If interested, email Laura Baldo (baldo.laura@ub.edu) with your CV, including technical skills, previous research and publications, and a letter of research interests (one single PDF).
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Research technician – 2 years
Specific tasks: Lab management, metagenomics, and field sampling.
Requirements: Master degree in biological sciences or biotechnology. Previous experience with molecular lab work, strong organizational skills, interest in microbiology and metagenomics.
Starting: Expected incorporation in last trimester 2023 or beginning of 2024.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
PhD students
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FPU fellowship (Ayudas para la formación de profesorado universitario) 4 years link
Open: December aproximately
Requirements: Master or currently enrolled in the last year of the Master
- FI Catalan fellowships (AGAUR) 3 years link
Open: October-November
Requirements: Master or currently enrolled in the last year of the Master. Minimum bachelor score: 6.5
- Fundació La Caixa fellowships – 3 years link
Open: December-January
Requirements: highly competitive, check link
Postdocs
- Juan de la Cierva from the Spanish Government. 3-year postdoctoral calls (January-February)
- Beatriu de Pinós from the Catalan Generalitat (August-September)
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie (September)
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