Early postdoc position
(Eco-evolutionary dynamics of soil microorganisms)
We are seeking a highly motivated and skilled individual with a PhD (who graduated less than 3 years ago) in microbial ecology and/or evolutionary biology to join the lab of Prof. Dr. Madhav P. Thakur (Head of Terrestrial Ecology) at the University of Bern in a project to unravel the importance of eco-evolutionary dynamics in predicting resistance and resilience of soil microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) to climate extremes (e.g., heat waves and drought). The postdoctoral researcher will lead several experimental projects and will closely collaborate with theoretical evolutionary biologists from the group of Prof. Dr. Claudia Bank (Head of Theoretical Ecology and Evolution) to integrate mathematical theory with empirical data. More specifically, the postdoctoral researcher will have the opportunity to address questions such as:
- How do biotic interactions within soil bacterial or fungal populations and communities affect their resistance and resilience to climatic extremes?
- What are the evolutionary consequences (shifts in phenotypic traits, genetic changes) of altered biotic interactions within bacterial and fungal populations and communities due to climatic extremes?
- Do evolutionary shifts in bacterial and fungal populations explain their ecological stability?
While the project focuses on investigating bacterial (several Pseudomonas strains) and fungal (several Trichoderma strains) populations and communities, the successful candidate could also study fungal-bacterial interactions to address the above questions or generate related new ones. The successful candidate will have access to cutting-edge facilities and resources, including high-throughput sequencing, next-generation microscopy, flow cytometry, and computational infrastructure.
This is a full-time, two-year appointment with the possibility of an extension. If you have a strong background in ecology or evolutionary biology and are keen on bridging theory and experiments using microorganisms, send your motivation letter (no more than two pages), CV, and the names of three referees with their contact information to
madhav.thakur@unibe.ch. Evaluation of the applications will begin on March 20, 2023, and will continue until the position is filled. The preferred starting date is July 2023. Salary as per the SNSF scale.
The division of Terrestrial Ecology, led by Prof. Thakur, is a recently started group (since 2020) at the University of Bern in Switzerland. We are a dynamic, international, and interdisciplinary research group with a strong experiment component aimed at understanding the consequences of climate change on terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Our group closely collaborates with the division of Theoretical Ecology and Evolution of Prof. Bank to bridge ecology and evolution to better understand the impacts of global change on our ecosystems. More information about the two research groups can be found here:
The Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bern currently has seven research divisions spanning a broad range of research in ecology and evolution, including conservation biology, behavioural ecology, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, population and evolutionary genomics, and evolutionary theory. The postdoctoral researcher will have several opportunities for interactions and collaborations with an international community of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and professors. The University of Bern is near the heart of the beautiful old city, and the quality of life in Bern is very high, with the Swiss alps in close vicinity.
