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 or post-doctoral researher position in microbial genetics

The position is located in the Department of Biology. The post-doc or graduate student will work on an Academy of Finland-funded project “Bacterial social networks and how they spread antibiotic resistance”. The position is fixed term from September 1^st 2019 until August 31^st 2023.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are causing an increasing, global threat which affects food production and human health. Our current tools permit monitoring the emergence of antibiotic resistance but permit no prediction of how the spreading will continue. This project will use tools from modern single cell genomics to quantify the factors which shape resistance gene spreading and emergence in bacterial communities. These quantitative observations permit modelling the spreading of resistance genes, essentially revealing to us the social networks which bacterial cells use to traffic the resistance genes. The benefits of this proposal are two-fold: first, the unprecedented information of bacterial genomics and social lives is of fundamental scientific interest. Second, the models transform our understanding of resistance gene mobility from descriptive to predictive and therefore pave way to accurate risk estimates and more responsible and informed use of current and future antibiotics.

The post-doctoral reseracher and doctoral student applying to the project are expected to have a relevant PhD or 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 is in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel levels 2–4 where the work-specific salary component is between 2033,29 – 2535,20 euros per month. The salary for post-doctoral researchers is in accordance with the University salary system for teaching and research personnel levels 4–6 where the work-specific salary component is between 2535,20 - 3423,25 euros per month. The component based on personal performance adds a minimum of 6 % and a maximum of 50 % to the base salary.

Applications should be accompanied by a motivation letter, a curriculum vitae, a list of publications, Academic portfolio ( https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/academic-portfolio), a copy of diploma of the degrees, addresses of 2-3 potential academic referees and other documents that may affect to the selection need to be attached to the application.

Application deadline is on Monday 26.8.2019 (23:59). The applications must be submitted via the electronic application form of the University of Turku. A link to the application form is available above the announcement of this position at https://www.utu.fi/en/university/come-work-with-us/open-vacancies.

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