The University of Oulu is a multidisciplinary, international research university, with about 3,600 employees who produce new knowledge based on high-standards research and provide research based education to build a more sustainable, smarter, and more humane world. The University of Oulu community has about 17,000 people in total. Our northern scientific community operates globally and creates conditions for the emergence of innovations.
We are now looking for
Two (2) Doctoral Researchers
to join us in the Ecology and Genetics Unit and the Insect Bioliteracy Group at the Faculty of Science to work in a fixed-term position with our research team for the project: Developing a Genomic Blueprint for a Bio-literate Future. The project is the Kvantum Institute’s spearhead project for the period of 2025-2028.
Kvantum Institute is one of four strategic focus institutes supporting high-quality research, coordinating multidisciplinary research activities, and providing doctoral training. Kvantum’s science-based expertise meets global challenges in the focus areas, such as mitigating climate change and safeguarding biodiversity. The Institute promotes interdisciplinary networking of research groups as well as cooperation among groups and national and international partners.
Position 1 description: DNA-based taxonomy of Braconidae
We will hire one (1) research-oriented, talented and industrious person to carry out doctoral studies in the project of “Developing a Genomic Blueprint for a Bio-literate Future”. The researcher will focus on massively diverse and taxonomically ‘dark’ group of braconid wasps in order to develop novel DNA-based solutions to accelerate their species descriptions based on their DNA characteristics. The researcher will develop an efficient protocol to recover nuclear genetic data from species using high-throughput sequencing approaches such as ONT and/or PacBio, and will demonstrate the efficiency of this protocol in practise. Additionally, the researcher will focus on estimating species richness of Cecidomyiidae (gall midges) globally.
The researcher will conduct research (a three-year fixed term), publish research results in international journals, attend doctoral courses, present research at international conferences, and complete the doctoral thesis within 3 years. Other duties include teaching in undergraduate courses (up to 5% of the total 1612 working hours per year), co-supervising master student(s) and presenting research in Kvantum Institute’s Researchers’ Seminar. In addition, they may be obliged to participate in administrative tasks for the university and/or the Ecology and Genetics Research Unit. The selected candidate will carry out their doctoral studies within the University of Oulu Graduate School (UniOGS) and must meet the requirements to receive doctoral study rights as defined in: http://www.oulu.fi/uniogs/requirements_for_admission.
Position 2 description: Species interconnections genomics
We will hire one (1) research-oriented, talented and industrious person to carry out doctoral studies in the project of “Developing a Genomic Blueprint for a Bio-literate Future”. The researcher will focus on developing new genomics approaches to elucidate species interconnections, i.e. host-parasitoid and host-herbivore relationships. The work will be conducted using reared and wild-collected specimens of parasitoid wasps and flies as well as sawfly larvae. The primary sequencing platforms will be ONT and Illumina. The goal is to develop and demonstrate approaches to recover host species directly from the specimen based on remains of DNA of their gut contents.
The researcher will conduct research (a three-year fixed-term), publish research results in international journals, attend doctoral courses, present research at international conferences, and complete the doctoral thesis within 3 years. Other duties include teaching in undergraduate courses (up to 5% of the total 1612 working hours per year), co-supervising master student(s) and presenting research in Kvantum Institute’s Researchers’ Seminar. In addition, they may be obliged to participate in administrative tasks for the university and/or the Ecology and Genetics Research Unit. The selected candidate will carry out their doctoral studies within the University of Oulu Graduate School (UniOGS) and must meet the requirements to receive doctoral study rights as defined in: http://www.oulu.fi/uniogs/requirements_for_admission.
Description of the research team
The doctoral Researcher will work in an international and experienced research team of biodiversity scholars and taxonomists. The project is led by Prof. Marko Mutanen (U. Oulu, Finland). The key collaborators include Prof. Michael Sharkey (U. Kentucky, USA), Academy Prof. Otso Ovaskainen (JYU Finland), Prof. Tomas Roslin (U. Uppsala, Sweden), Prof. Paul Hebert, Sujeevan Ratnasingham, Dr. Evgeny Zakharov (U. Guelph, Canada), Prof. Jaakko Pohjoismäki (UEF, Finland), Assistant Prof. Stefan Prost (U. Oulu, Finland), and Dr Marko Prous (U. Tartu, Estonia), MSc Maria Khan, and MSc Niina Kiljunen (U. Oulu, Finland).
Position requirements
In addition, we value:
Salary
The position is fixed-term for three years as of 01.01.2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
The salary will be based on levels 2-4 of the demand level chart for teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. In addition, a salary component based on personal work performance will be paid (a maximum of 50 % of the job-specific component). The starting gross salary will be approx. 2600-2800 € per month (before taxes). A trial period of 6 months is applied for the position.
How to apply?
Interested? If yes, please apply by 17.11.2024 (23:59 Finnish local time) through our recruitment system.
The application should be written in English and include the following:
The top applicants fitting best in the profile expected for the position will be invited to an on-site or remote interview. All applicants will be notified during the selection process.
Contact Information
If you have any further questions, please contact Prof. Marko Mutanen, Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, Faculty of Science, marko.mutanen@oulu.fi
Type of employment | Temporary position |
---|---|
Contract type | Full time |
Number of positions | 1 |
Full-time equivalent | 100 % |
City | Oulu |
County | Pohjois-Pohjanmaa |
Country | Finland |
Reference number | 2024/551 |
Published | 21.Oct.2024 |
Last application date | 17.Nov.2024 |