POST-DOCTORAL OPPORTUNITY IN MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION University of Minnesota
Our research group seeks to hire two to three post-doctoral associates in the ecology and evolution of plant-associated microbes. Successful applicants will work on an experimental project with global reach as part of a team of ecologists and evolutionary biologists spanning the University of Minnesota's departments of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Plant Pathology. The appointment is for one year (with potential for renewal), to begin as soon as possible. The scientific goal of these positions is to examine the abiotic and biotic predictors and functional significance of fungal, bacterial, and viral symbionts of plant hosts, and determine plant microbiome effects on disease transmission. Experiments will encompass scales ranging from individual hosts and local host communities to regional and global bioclimatic and soil gradients. Projects will include quantification of bacterial, fungal, and viral communities within hosts using high-throughput sequencing and manipulative experiments in both the field and lab to examine the effects of the plant-associated microbial community on host fecundity and pathogen resistance, and on microbial fitness and transmission. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to work with mathematical modelers to use empirically-derived parameter values and test predictive models. We are particularly interested in applicants with metagenomics or organismal expertise in microbial biology and training in community ecology or evolutionary biology. Successful applicants will have experience and ability in laboratory techniques necessary for high-throughput sequencing and quantitative skills for manipulating and analyzing metagenomic or ecological datasets. A conceptual overview of the larger project is described in Borer et al. 2013 (found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2013.08.009). Questions about this position should be addressed to Dr. Elizabeth Borer, [email protected]. Review of applications will begin on 10 December 2013. Apply for this position (Requisition #188311) via the University of Minnesota Office of Human Resources website: https://employment.umn.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=657343
