The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education.

Doctoral candidate / Project researcher position in microbial genetics

The position is located in the Department of Biology. The Doctoral student / Project researcher will work on an Academy of Finland-funded project “Functional and social structure of bacterial communities”. The position is fixed term from March 1, 2021 and last for a maximum of three years.

Bacterial communities are extremely complex structures where bacteria live in constant interaction with their neighbors. Our understanding of the structures and functioning of these communities is lacking due to the high abundance and diversity of bacteria as well as their microscopic size. Within the current project, novel microscopic-level information will be collected from the interactions and functioning of individual bacteria within their microenvironments. This will be done using techniques of modern microbial single cell genomics, and the collected information will be used to model the factors shaping the spatial patterning of the bacterial communities as well as the bacterial genomic properties influencing this patterning. Understanding the links between bacterial genomics and spatial patterning of bacterial communities is of high fundamental importance but also has crucial links to the spreading of antibiotic resistance and pathogenicity traits to human pathogenic bacteria.

The applicants are expected to carry a relevant MSc degree and to have experience in molecular biology, in particular in PCR and preparation of NGS libraries. Experience in computational biology is considered a benefit. The applicants are expected to plan and conduct experiments independently and to have excellent spoken and written English language skills.

The eligibility criteria are defined in the rules of procedure of the University of Turku.

There will be a trial period of 6 months.

The salary will be determined in accordance with the Finnish university salary system for teaching and research personnel, and consists of two components: a work-specific salary component reflecting how demanding the position is, and a performance component reflecting an evaluation of the position-holder’s personal achievement.

The salary for doctoral candidate / project researcher is in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel levels 2–4 where the work-specific salary component is between 2055,66 – 2563, 09 euros per month. The component based on personal performance adds a minimum of 6 % and a maximum of 50 % to the base salary.

Applications must be submitted by Wednesday 10th of February, 2021 (23:59), using the electronic application form of the University of Turku on the following address: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies
The link to the application system is at the beginning of this announcement (Apply for the job).

Applicants are to submit a letter of motivation explaining their qualifications and interest for this position including the names and contact details of two-three persons that can provide a reference, a Curriculum Vitae including a list of publications and a copy of their degree certificate with translation in English or Finnish (if applicable).

For further information about the position, please contact Academy fellow Manu Tamminen, manu.tamminen@utu.fi.