Postdoctoral researcher in systematic Zoology

A two-year postdoctoral position is available in the Department of Zoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm. The position is supervised by Dr. Oleksandr Holovachov, as a part of the project "Taxonomy and systematics of digenetic trematodes parasitizing fishes of Sweden" funded by the Swedish Taxonomy Initiative. The major goal of this project is to perform a survey of the systematics of digenean flatworms parasitizing fishes from Swedish marine and freshwater ecosystems, to publish new faunistic records, and to discover and describe species new to science. Molecular data will be used to analyse phylogenetic relationships within Digenea.

WORK TASKS
- Field work, collection and parasitological survey of teleost fishes.
- Collection and preservation of trematodes for morphological and genetic studies.
- Screening of samples, preparation of microscope slides.
- Sanger sequencing of standard genetic markers.
- Identification of digenean trematodes to genus and species level.
- Preparation of species descriptions and illustrations.
- Phylogenetic analysis using morphological and molecular characters.
- Public outreach.


QUALIFICATIONS
The successful candidate must have a recent (max 3 years old) PhD in Zoology, Parasitology or related disciplines, with experience in molecular and morphology-based systematics and well as species delimitation. A relevant record of scientific publications and proficiency in English are expected. Experience in using light microscopy, scientific illustration, and identification of digenean trematodes of marine and freshwater fishes, ethical guidelines for animal research as well as ability to attract external funding are highly desirable.

Criteria for selection:
Selection will be based on scientific merits including the quality of the PhD thesis and published scientific work, as well as documented competence in subjects of relevance for the research project.


OTHER
The application must include (1) a cover letter outlining the research interests, relevant experience and motivation, (2) a detailed CV including list of publications, (3) contact information for two references.