PhD position in evolutionary biology and palaeontology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Department of Organismal Biology teaches and explores the evolution, development and function on the organismal level. For more information see www.iob.uu.se.

At the Department of Organismal Biology, Program of Evolution and Development, main supervisor Sophie Sanchez, co-supervisor Per Ahlberg.

New insights into the tetrapod terrestrialisation revealed by 3D high-resolution imaging

Duties/Project description: Tetrapod terrestrialisation is a major evolutionary event and a long-lasting evolutionary process from which independent land-living tetrapods emerged about 100 million years after the first step on land. Despite the great interest of the palaeontological community for this topic, very little is known about the life history traits of these tetrapods. Because the fossil record is limited, this project will focus on using state-of-the-art imaging technologies to access for the first time the bone microstructures of early tetrapods in three dimensions and investigate unexplored physiological and biological adaptations to land.

This project will aim at reconstructing the bone microstructure of limb bones of Devonian-to-Carboniferous tetrapods in three dimensions using a work-station available at the EO program and the software VGStudioMax. Segmentation and 3D rendering of bone histological structures will be conducted by the PhD student on a synchrotron tomographic dataset acquired by the main supervisor. Depending on these results, the PhD student will collect more data, apply for extra beamtime and lead new experiments at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in collaboration with local colleagues.

In order to give sufficient and appropriate support to the student, she/he will have two supervisors. Sophie Sanchez will be the principal supervisor, providing expertise on 3D virtual bone histology in stem tetrapods and Per Ahlberg will be the co-supervisor, a world leader on stem tetrapod anatomy and evolution.

Requirements: A master degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject area is required. First-hand experience of segmenting synchrotron microtomography data sets of fossils, ideally with a conventional software package such as VGStudio or Mimics, is essential. The candidate must be fluent in spoken and written English.

Additional qualifications: Other experience of working with vertebrate histology/palaeontology is desirable.

In filling this position, the university aims to recruit the person who, in the combined evaluation ofcompetence, skills and documented qualifications, is judged most suitable to carry out and develop the work-in-hand and to contribute to a positive development of the department.

Position: The PhD-student position is a 4-year appointment, and the candidate will primarily devote the time to his/her own research studies. Other departmental work, such as teaching or administration can be part of the position (maximum 20 %). Salary placement is in accordance with local guidelines at Uppsala University. The applicant must be eligible for PhD studies at Uppsala University.

Information about research education can be found at the web site of the Faculty of Science and Technology, http://www.teknat.uu.se/Doktorand/.

Application: The application should include 1) a letter of intent describing yourself, your research interests and motivation of why you want to do a PhD, 2) a short description of your education, 3) a CV, 4) a copy of your master degree and course grades, 5) the names and contact information (address, email address, and phone number) of at least two reference persons, 6) relevant publications (including master thesis). The application must be written in English.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Salary: According to local agreement for PhD students.
 
Starting date: 01-05-2021 or as otherwise agreed.

Type of employment: Temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7.

Scope of employment: 100 %.

For further information about the position please contact: Sophie Sanchez, Sophie.sanchez@ebc.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 24nd of March 2021, UFV-PA 2021/754.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? Find out more about what it´s like to work and live in Sweden.