Two PhD positions in Paleogenomics and Ice Age Ecosystems

Paleogenomics and Ice Age Ecosystems

How did Europe's temperate forests survive the harshest climatic period of the last Ice Age? Where were the last refuges of temperate flora when ice sheets covered much of the continent-and what can these ancient survival strategies teach us about the future of ecosystems under rapid climate change?

We invite applications for two fully funded 4-year PhD positions within the interdisciplinary SNSF-funded project ECO-ICE, based at the Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern, Switzerland.

Your role

As a PhD student you will explore ancient ecosystems using innovative sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) and paleogenomic approaches. Your work will contribute directly to reconstructing past vegetation communities and uncover the hidden genetic diversity of refugial populations. Your responsibilities include retrieving lake sediment cores during field campaigns around Europe, extracting sedaDNA in a dedicated clean-lab facility, and applying advanced bioinformatic tools to the paleogenomic data. In addition, you will collaborate with experts in paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and geochemistry within the ECO-ICE consortium. The project offers the rare opportunity to work across fieldwork, laboratory science and computational biology, gaining a comprehensive skill set in the rapidly developing field of sedaDNA research. You will present your research at international conferences, publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals and contribute to science communication and outreach.

Who we are looking for

We seek curious, highly motivated and collaborative early-career scientists who are excited to work at the interface of ecology, genomics and climate sciences. You hold a Master's degree in Biology, Environmental Sciences, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Geography, or a related discipline. You have basic knowledge in vegetation ecology, molecular biology, population genetics and bioinformatics. Expertise in (a)DNA extraction, library preparation, NGS genome data analysis (Unix, R, Python) is advantageous. Preferably, you already have experience in writing scientific articles, possess good organization skills and communicate effectively in English.

You will be doing exciting research in a vibrant and international team at a beautiful location in Bern, located in one of Europe's most liveable cities and close to the Alps. You will have access to world-class clean-lab facilities and high-performance computing infrastructure. You will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Climate Sciences, providing interdisciplinary training and transferable-skills courses. Employment conditions follow SNSF salary guidelines.