PhD student (4 years) in Evolution of toxicity in birds and frogs

Publiceringsdatum: 2025-02-03

Nu har du chansen att börja jobba som doktorand hos Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet. Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet behöver någon som vill arbeta heltid. Om du är tillgänglig för 3 månader – upp till 6 månader, ta en titt på denna jobbannons. För detta jobb är Stockholm den angivna tjänsteorten.

Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet söker efter fler duktiga individer som vill arbeta som doktorand. De har just nu ett ledigt jobb som doktorand som kan vara av intresse för dig. Här är chansen att bli en del av Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet och jobba som doktorand! Ansök senast måndag den tredje mars 2025.

Jobbannons

The Swedish Museum of Natural History is a government agency with a mandate to promote knowledge, research and interest in our world. It is a prominent research institution and Sweden's largest museum. For more than 200 years, the museum has been collecting specimens and data and conducting research on life on earth. The collections contain more than 11 million plants, animals, fungi, environmental samples, minerals and fossils. All research and knowledge are shared in the exhibitions, Cosmonova and in activities at the museum and digitally.

WORK TASKS

The Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History is offering a four-year PhD position focused on exploring the convergent evolution of toxicity in New Guinean passerine birds and Neotropical poison dart frogs.

The project will combine field and manipulation experiments with comparative genomics, transcriptomics and chemical analyses to broaden our understanding of convergent evolution of toxic lifestyles in two distinct vertebrate clades. The student is expected to work on one or more of the following aspects: i) determine the source of BTX and its adaptive significance in toxic birds, ii) pinpoint the underlying genomic adaptations allowing for storage and transportation of toxins in both birds and frogs, and iii) evaluate the roles that gut microbial symbionts play in toxin uptake, and in facilitating the hosts adaptations to be toxic. 

The candidate will use whole genomic data, meta-barcoding data and transcriptomics data to answer the above questions and is expected to take part in developing specific projects based on interest and experience. There is also the possibility (albeit not mandatory) to participate in fieldwork at the Copenhagen Zoo or in Papua New Guinea.

The PhD student will be supervised by Knud Jønsson, NRM and Kasun Bodawatta (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and will have close collaboration with Christine Beemelmanns at the Hans Knöll Institute in Leipzig, Germany. Other potential collaborators at the Department include Martin Irestedt, Johan Nylander, Tom van der Valk and José Cerca. More broadly, the museum is home to a collection of highly skilled entomologists including Niklas Apelqvist and Kjell Arne Johansson who may facilitate the entomological work related to diet analyses.

QUALIFICATIONS

1)    MSc degree in biology or related fields

2)    Documented knowledge in a relevant research field

3)    Excellent written and spoken English

Merits

In addition, experience in the following areas will be considered:

 1)    Knowledge of theory of population genetics

2)    Experience with molecular lab techniques (e.g., DNA extraction, DNA sequence library preparation)

3)    Experience with analysis of whole-genome DNA sequence data (Nanopore, PacBio, and/or Illumina)

4)    Experience with the generation and analysis of sequence data from museum samples

5)    Proficiency in bash command line and Python/R

6)    Experience working with high-performance computing clusters

7)    A strong interest in and experience working with biodiversity

 Personal competencies

1)    Analytical thinking

2)    Ability to collaborate

3)    Creativity

OTHER

Please include the following documents with your application:

1)    A well-justified cover letter (maximum 1 page) including a statement of interest, a brief summary of your scientific work and interests, and a personal reflection on how your qualifications align with the profile of the candidate we seek.

2)    A CV summarizing your education, positions, and academic work.

3)    A list of publications and academic work you wish to be considered by the evaluation committee. Inclusion of MSc thesis is beneficial.

4)    Copies of your Bachelors and Masters degree diplomas, along with transcripts of records.

5)    Documentation of English proficiency, if applicable.

6)    Names and contact details of 2-3 references (including their relationship to you, email, and telephone number).

7)    [Optional, but beneficial] A 1-2 page research proposal outlining your research questions, the biological system of focus, and experimental design.

 We advance our knowledge of the natural world, inspiring to better care of our planet. Our ambition is that the employees of The Swedish Museum of Natural History shall represent the diversity in Sweden and we welcome every applicant.

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 http://www.nrm.se