Job offers of the Thünen Institute

scientist - Soil Microbiology and Molecular Ecology/Protists and Fungi (m/f/d)

The Institutes of Biodiversity and of Farm Economics at the Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, in Braunschweig is seeking as soon as possible

a scientist – Soil Microbiology and Molecular Ecology/Protists and Fungi (m/f/d)

as doctoral candidate with expertise in soil microbiology and ecology for conducting research in context of the project Monitoring biodiversity in agricultural landscapes (MonViA), with 65% of the regular weekly working hours (currently corresponding to 25.35 h per week). In addition to the employment relationship, there is the opportunity for further academic qualification, in particular to work on a dissertation. The own work results achieved in the project can be used for the promotion. The University of Cologne or the Technical University of Braunschweig may be considered for the doctorate. The position is limited to a three (3) year employment in compliance with § 2 (1) S. 1 Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz. The place of work is Braunschweig, with research stays at University of Cologne.

The Institute of Biodiversity investigates biological processes in agro-ecosystems. The position is within the working group "Microbiology and Molecular Ecology” headed by Prof. Christoph Tebbe. For protist analyses, research stays in the working group of Prof. Dr. Michael Bonkowski, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne are planned.

Fungi and protists are both microbial eukaryotes and important constituents of the soil microbiome. They provide indispensable ecosystem functions.  However, their lifestyle is highly contrasting in regard to nutrient acquisition, mobility and interactions with other organisms. The spatial and temporal variation of their diversity and their response to land-use change or global warming is still poorly understood. The overall objective of this project is to assess whether abundance and/or diversity of fungi and protists, or specific phylogenetic or functional groups of them, can serve as indicators for describing the conditions and quality of soils. The results of this study will instruct politics to consider the value of including either fungi or protists, or specific groups of them, for a nationwide soil monitoring. To reach conclusive information, methodological developments for optimized soil sampling, storage and DNA/RNA analyses, especially for studying protist diversity, are still required and thus part of this work. 

The position includes the following tasks:

• Establishing and further development of PCR and RT-PCR based methods for analyzing the structural and functional diversity of fungal and protist communities from soil extracted DNA and RNA
• Assessing the impact of soil sampling and storage conditions as well as different DNA/RNA extraction protocols on data to characterize the abundance and diversity of fungi and protists
• Characterization of the importance of spatial and temporal factors as well as land-use or other environmental parameters and fungal and protist communities in soil
• Bioinformatic analyses of the alpha- and beta-diversity of eukaryotes in soil samples and aggregates. Identification of the impact of different environmental factors on the interactions within and between communities utilizing network analyses
• Preparation of reports and presentations of the MonViA project and own results at internal and external meetings as well as national and international conferences
• Preparation of manuscripts of the publication of own research results in peer-reviewed international journals

Required qualifications:

• A university degree (Univ.-Diploma, M.Sc.) which allows entering a PhD program in biology, environmental sciences, agricultural sciences or similar disciplines
• Great interest in molecular ecology and motivation to contribute to the interdisciplinary field of agricultural ecology
• Good knowledge of microbial ecology, ideally also about protists and/or fungal biology
• Familiarity with the use of bioinformatic methods for the analysis of DNA sequences is desirable
• Knowledge of statistical data analysis using R is desirable
• Independent working ability, high organizational talent, strong cooperation capacity
• Very good communication skills
• Very good knowledge of spoken and written English

We offer the opportunity to work in an active and stimulating research environment on socially highly relevant issues at the interface between science and practice, and to make use of contacts with national research institutions. Because the professional and personal development of our employees is important to us, we offer a family-friendly work environment, flexible working time models and comprehensive offers of professional training and further education.

The employment is within the context of the regulation of the collective agreement for the civil service (TVöD). Compensation will be according to salary group 13 TVöD.

             
The Thünen Institute promotes the professional equality of women and men and is thus especially interested in applications from women.

People with disabilities are given special consideration if they are equally qualified; from them only minimal physical aptitude is required.

For further information you may contact Prof. Dr. Christoph Tebbe (phone +49 531-596-2553; christoph.tebbe@thuenen.de). The interviews for this position are expected to take place between the May 11^th and 15^th, 2020. Please note that, owing the current situation with the Corona virus, the interviews may exclusively be conducted via Internet (e.g. Skype), but, if no official restrictions apply, selected candidates are welcome to visit the Institute and meet with its employers.

Applications with a curriculum vitae in tabular form, presentation of training and professional development, addresses for two references as well as copies of certificates should be submitted combined into a single (!) pdf-file to bd@thuenen.de until 05.05.2020, quoting code number 2020-073-BD , addressed to the

bd@thuenen.de

Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut
Institut für Biodiversität
Bundesallee 65, 38116 Braunschweig

Germany

Informations about Artikel 13 DSGVO: www.thuenen.de/datenschutzhinweis-bewerbungen.

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