Open positions

lab. technician (4+6 month, 25%)
PhD position: Arctic vegetation and energy balance
Master project: Ecology of Oral Pathogens

lab. technician (4+6 month, 25%)

Duties include but not restricted to: PCR, plant culturing (both axenic and green house cultures), molecular cloning, morphological measurements, handling of RNA and DNA samples.

more info
(submitted by Dr. Peter Szovenyi)

PhD position: Arctic vegetation and energy balance

Climate change in the Arctic is more extensive and faster than expected. Changes in the physical system will lead to vegetation shifts, such as shrub encroachment that can already be observed in many regions of the Arctic. The aim of the project is to improve the understanding of the tundra energy balance, specifically the dependence of radiative transfer on vegetation type. The successful applicant will simulate shortwave radiation fluxes for selected tundra vegetation types based on a 3D radiative transfer model (DART) and in situ validation measurements. The results of the project will contribute to an increased accuracy of shortwave energy budget predictions and their feedback on permafrost and climate in the vulnerable Arctic system.

The project is fully funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation for a duration of 36 months, starting 1 September 2012. more info
(submitted by Dr. Gabriela Schaepman-Strub)

Master project: Ecology of Oral Pathogens

Filamentous bacteria are ubiquitous in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Moreover, they can be multicellular, hence they are suitable case studies for the evolution of multicellularity. A recent work of Rossetti et al. (Journal of the Royal Society Interface, (2011) 8, 1772-1784) studied the ecological conditions for the emergence of multicellular life cycles in filamentous, multicellular bacteria.

Filamentous bacteria are also relevant pathogens of the animal and human oral cavity. By extending the validation of the results obtained in Rossetti et al to pathogenic species of the oral cavity, the project aims to assess the presence of a cyclic pattern of the filament length, and the conditions for the emergence of multicellular life cycles. Besides the importance in the study of the evolution of multicellularity, the obtained results are expected to provide new insights into the ecology of oral microbes and to be potentially applied to the study of their pathogenicity.

The project can start between February and May 2012 and is designed for a duration of 9-12 months. more info
(submitted by Prof. Homayoun Bagheri)