Dear all, I would like advertise the following PhD position, best wishes, Berend Snel PhD student bioinformatics and the origin of eukaryotes (1.0 FTE) Utrecht University Function You are a PhD student to join our team as part of a project that addresses the origin and ancient evolution of the eukaryotes, funded by a recently awarded NWO VICI grant. The earliest stages of eukaryotic evolution are characterised by a drastic increase in cellular and genomic complexity: already before the last common ancestor of all modern eukaryotes cellular components like the nucleus, cilia, mitochondria, and the elaborate endomembrane system had arisen. You will use our unique in-house collection of eukaryotic genome sequences, some of which have only recently become available, to reconstruct ancestral gene repertoires using bioinformatic techniques. In combination with prokaryotic genome sequences, these repertoires will enable you to elucidate the processes that resulted in the increase in complexity, such as gene and whole-genome duplications, endosymbiosis and horizontal gene transfer.    Profile You, as the ideal candidate, have a background in bioinformatics, data analysis, cell biology, and/or evolutionary biology. You are ambitious, you fit well in our team and you have a strong drive to succeed as a scientist. You will work in a large, dynamic and diverse Computational Biology department. You will be directly supervised by your promotor Prof Berend Snel, and collaborate with two other PhD students and a postdoc within the NWO VICI project.    The Evolutionary Genomics lab at Utrecht University researches the interplay between network and genome evolution by bioinformatic analysis of novel high throughput data and novel genome sequences. By analyzing this interplay we study the predictability of genome evolution, the origins of eukaryotic cellular complexity, and the role of recurrent gene loss and gene duplication in the evolution of cellular processes. In addition to global bioinformatics analyses we study the evolution of individual proteins in collaboration with molecular biology labs at the Science Faculty, the Hubrecht Institute and the UMCU. The evolutionary genomics lab has a leading role in the Utrecht Bioinformatics Center and is embedded within the Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics group studying various areas in biology with a variety of computational approaches. For more information and/or to apply see: http://www.peoplexs.com/Peoplexs22/CandidatesPortalNoLogin/Vacancy.cfm?PortalID=4063&VacatureID=953243