[BBC] PhD position: Investigation of biodegradation pathways in Daphnia and freshwater microbiomes

[Karoline Faust]

PhD position: Investigation of biodegradation pathways in Daphnia and freshwater microbiomes
The PlasticDaphnia consortium is looking for a motivated PhD student who is interested in the analysis of microbial 16S rRNA and whole genome sequencing data. The PhD student will be supervised by: Prof. Faust<http://tinyurl.com/MicrobialSysBio> (Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation), Prof. Springael<https://www.kuleuven.be/wieiswie/en/person/00037739> (Division of Soil and Water Management) and Prof. Decaestecker<https://www.kuleuven-kulak.be/nl/onderzoek/Onderzoeksdomeinen/aquatische-biologie/personal_pages/Prof_Ellen_Decaestecker> (Department of Biology).
Project
The overall goal of the PlasticDaphnia project is the development of new plastics that are more biodegradable and thus pose lower environmental risks than conventional plastics. The filter feeder Daphnia is a crucial species in freshwater ecosystems and is traditionally used as a bioindicator for water quality. Its diverse microbiome is known to harbour biodegradation capabilities, which will be further explored in this project. The task of the PhD student is to analyse 16S rRNA sequencing data of Daphnia and freshwater microbiomes and to build and apply a new metagenomics/metatranscriptomics analysis pipeline to quantify the abundance/transcription of biodegradation pathways in complex communities.
Profile
Two types of profiles are acceptable:
Background in informatics/applied mathematics
●  good knowledge of an object-oriented and/or a statistical programming language, modern IDEs, version control and/or experience with computer clusters
●  basic knowledge of biochemistry and of microbiology or ecology
●  strong interest in microbial ecology and sequencing data analysis
Background in biology/computational biology/bioinformatics
●  good knowledge of biochemistry and of microbiology or ecology
●  basic knowledge of an object-oriented and/or statistical programming language
●  strong motivation to improve programming skills
The PhD candidate is expected to apply for an FWO PhD fellowship and should therefore meet the eligibility criteria. Proficiency in English is required, experience with NGS analysis tools and/or knowledge of metabolic network theory is a plus.
Offer
● funding available for 4 years
● enrolment at one of the top universities in Europe
● part of an interdisciplinary research team
● competitive salary
Interested?
Please submit your application consisting of your CV, motivation letter and contact details for at least 2 references via the online application tool (https://www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/jobs/55796938). The closing date for applications is the 1st of October 2020. The intended starting date is the 16th of November 2020 but can be negotiated. Interviews will be held in October.
For more information, please contact Prof. Karoline Faust (karoline.faust at kuleuven.be<mailto:karoline.faust at kuleuven.be>), Prof. Dirk Springael (dirk.springael at kuleuven.be<mailto:dirk.springael at kuleuven.be>) or Prof. Ellen Decaestecker (ellen.decaestecker at kuleuven.be<mailto:ellen.decaestecker at kuleuven.be>).
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