Oferty pracy w projektach finansowanych przez NCN

Nazwa jednostki: Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Sciences – Sopot, Inne oferty z tego miasta »
Nazwa stanowiska: PhD scholarship
Wymagania:

Requirements:
- MsC in biology/bioinformatics (specialization in marine biology/molecular ecology/microbiology will be an advantage)
- Basic experience in molecular techniques (DNA extraction, PCR, High-throughput sequencing)
- Expertise in bioinformatic and biostatistics tools for analysis of DNA sequence data
- High motivation for scientific work
- Very good English written and verbal communication skills
- Additional advantage: (co-)authorship of scientific paper and/or conference presentation
- Experience in field research and research cruises will be appreciated

Opis zadań:

Tasks description:
1. Preparation and conducting fieldwork, participation in research cruises in the Baltic Sea
2. Collecting surface sediment samples for environmental DNA metabarcoding
3. Collecting and identifying specimens for DNA barcoding
4. DNA extraction, PCR amplification, Preparation of libraries for high-throughput sequencing (Illumina, Nanopore)
5. Analysis of DNA barcoding and metabarcoding data
6. Data integration and biostatistics analyses
7. Writing scientific publications
8. Presentation of the results at international scientific conferences

Project description:
Unrecognized biodiversity changes in the Baltic Sea described by Novel Environmental DNA analyses of the MeiOfauna (NEMO)
Rapid climate change and anthropogenic activities are having a major impact on marine biodiversity, leading to growing concern about biodiversity loss. However, all our knowledge of biodiversity changes is based on limited data on charismatic large species, which represent only a tiny fraction of biodiversity. The majority of marine biodiversity is made up of the minute micro- and meiofauna organisms, which are generally overlooked because they are very difficult to study.
The aim of the project is to unveil the cryptic diversity of the meiofauna using environmental DNA-based methods and to demonstrate the links between changes in meiofaunal diversity and the state of the Baltic Sea environment. In particular, we will analyse the impact of recent environmental change on seabed biodiversity in the Gulf of Gdansk and the Bay of Puck, which have been subject to strong anthropogenic pressures (industrialisation, urbanisation and agriculture). We will also analyse the impacts of increasing anoxic conditions and eutrophication in the deepest parts of the Baltic Sea (Gdansk Deep and Gotland Deep).
Our working hypothesis is that the analysis of meiofaunal eDNA will provide new insights into the impact of environmental change on marine biodiversity. To test this hypothesis, we will initiate the DNA barcode reference database of Baltic Sea meiofauna. We will use high throughput eDNA metabarcoding to study meiofauna diversity and assess its sensitivity to anthropogenic pressures. We will select the meiofaunal taxa that could be used as new bioindicators and develop the meiofauna eDNA assays using Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT). We will test the effectiveness of the assays under different conditions and assess their potential application for the monitoring of current and past environmental change.
The project will have a major scientific impact in many domains, ranging from systematics and biodiversity to molecular ecology, environmental genomics and paleogenomics. Its results will advance basic knowledge on the diversity and ecology of meiofauna in the Baltic Sea and their evolution through time. It will unravel the genetic diversity of meiofaunal taxa and assess their sensitivity to environmental stressors. It will also provide insight into the temporal and spatial variation of the meiofaunal community in time and space and assess the impact of this variation on the accuracy of metabarcoding analyses. Furthermore, the project will have a significant impact on environmental sciences by testing the usefulness of meiofauna as bioindicators of anthropogenic pressures and selecting those that are most sensitive and suitable for eDNA-based biomonitoring. The project will allow to track changes in biodiversity through time and to reconstruct past ecosystem conditions through the analysis of ancient sedimentary DNA. In summary, the project will contribute to the development of rapid and cost-effective meiofauna eDNA proxies that will significantly improve the monitoring of marine ecosystems in the future.

Typ konkursu NCN: OPUS – NZ
Termin składania ofert: 14 marca 2025, 23:59
Forma składania ofert: email
Warunki zatrudnienia:

Terms & conditions:
Scholarship: 5 000 PLN gross gross per month
Duration: 32 months (with the possibility of extension), from May 2025
Application deadline: March 14th, 2025
Competition result: March 31st, 2025

According to this position Candidate can be already affiliated to Doctoral School (can have a status of a PhD student) or must become a PhD student at the Doctoral School called Trójmiejska Szkoła Doktorska (https://www.imp.gda.pl /bip/trojmiejska-szkola-doktorska/).

Dodatkowe informacje:

Additional information:

Applying form: email to: rekrutacja@iopan.pl and copy to janpawlowski@iopan.pl and lechk@iopan.pl with message title 'PhD student NEMO - DNA'

The PhD position is available at within the cross-disciplinary research project 'Unrecognized biodiversity changes in the Baltic Sea described by Novel Environmental DNA analyses of the MeiOfauna (NEMO)' funded through the OPUS program of National Science Centre, Poland.

Title of PhD project: 'DNA-based assessment of meiofauna biodiversity in the Baltic Sea'
The supervisors will be prof. Jan Pawłowski (janpawlowski@iopan.pl), dr hab. Lech Kotwicki (lechk@iopan.pl) and dr hab. Joanna Pawłowska (pawlowska@iopan.pl), Institute of Oceanology PAN

Required documents:

1. Motivation letter
2. Detailed CV (including a brief description of research interests, previous employments, research achievements, and publication list)
3. Copy of Master’s diploma
4. Contact details of at least two references (letters of recommendation are optional)
5. Consent clause*

The candidates may be requested additional information or invited to an interview with representatives of the scholarship commission. The candidates that will not provide all required documents, will not be taken into consideration.

*Please attach a signed document with the following Consent clause:

I hereby consent to have my personal data processed by the Institute of Oceanology Polish Academy of Science pursuant to Article 6 paragraph 1 letter a of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for the purpose of carrying out a recruitment process for the position of PhD scholarship.
I also declare that I have read the information on the processing of personal data provided by the Institute in accordance with Article 13 GDPR.
......................... ..........................................
(place and date) (signature of the declarant)

INFORMATION ON THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA:
http://www.iopan.pl/praca/INFORMATION_ON_THE_PROCESSING_OF_PERSONAL_DATA.pdf

Data dodania ogłoszenia: 2025-01-29 20:38:43