45,000 students and 8,000 employees in teaching, research and administration, all working together to shape perspectives for the future – that is the University of Münster (WWU). Embedded in the vibrant atmosphere of Münster with its high standard of living, the University’s diverse research profile and attractive study programmes draw students and researchers throughout Germany and from around the world.
The Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity at the University of Münster, Germany, is seeking to fill the position of a
Doctoral Research Associate
Wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in
(salary level TV-L E 13, 65%)
starting in November 2022 with Dr Peter Czuppon. The position is funded for three years as part of the project
FlyInnovation, a collaborative project with the empirical group of Prof Wilfert (University of Ulm). The project is situated within the DFG funded Priority Programme GEvol. The goal of GEvol is to collaboratively and interdisciplinarily exploit new computational and OMICS methods to reveal the history of genomes in the insect taxon by comparative genomics.
This PhD project in theoretical evolutionary genetics studies the potential conflict and collaboration between transposons and their Drosophila hosts. The PhD student will model population dynamics of transposable elements both within a genome and across species. This project is highly interdisciplinary as these theoretical results will be compared to the experimental findings of Prof Wilfert’s collaborative project.
Research tasks:
- development and analysis of (eco-)evolutionary models
- numerical implementation (e.g. C++, julia, python)
- genomic data analysis (obtained from the Wilfert lab and the wider consortium of the GEvol Priority Programme) and comparison to theoretical predictions
- writing of scientific publications
- interdisciplinary collaboration with the Wilfert lab
This position is tied to working towards a doctorate.
Our expectations:
- a university degree in a relevant scientific discipline (e.g. biology, mathematics, physics, bioinformatics)
- the aspiration and ability to complete a doctorate
- programming skills in at least one programming language (e.g. R, python, julia, C++)
- interest in both biological and mathematical questions
- good proficiency in spoken and written English
- excellent communication skills to facilitate working as part of an interdisciplinary collaborative team
Preferred experience and skills:
- experience with mathematical modelling and/or experience with genomic data analysis
The University of Münster is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to increasing the proportion of women academics. Consequently, we actively encourage applications by women.
Female candidates with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered within the framework of the legal possibilities.
The University of Münster is committed to employing more staff with disabilities. Candidates with recognised severe disabilities who have equivalent qualifications are given preference in hiring decisions.
Please send your application via email, in a single PDF file, by 31 July 2022. Applications should be sent to Dr Peter Czuppon (p.czuppon@uni-muenster.de) and should include 1) a cover letter with a statement of research interests and motivation (max. 1 page), 2) a CV including details about research experience and (if applicable) publications, and 3) contact details for two references.