Researcher in Natural Science, specializing in Plant Population Genomics

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 49 000 students and 6 400 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract scientists and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, to the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals and populations, to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics and combinations of these fields in order to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

The department is placed at three different localities: the Gothenburg Botanical Garden, at Medicinarberget 18A in Gothenburg, and at Kristineberg Marine Research Station. The current position is placed at Gothenburg Botanical Garden.

The Department of Biological and Environmental Science (http://bioenv.gu.se) is the host of the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (http://ggbc.gu.se). The Centre has two main goals: to further develop biodiversity research, and to bridge the gap between scientists, the public and industry. The working language is English.

Project description
Understanding which factors determine how a species responds to environmental change allows us to anticipate future shifts in community composition. Populations that experience severe stress, such as in the face of climate change, may avoid extinction through adaptation by natural selection. This process is known as evolutionary rescue and can provide a means for species conservation. Our objectives are to leverage plant genomic diversity to 1) infer population structure and genetic diversity, 2) determine adaptive potential to future predicted climate change, and 3) model the future spread of allelic variation and adaptive genotypes. Through a combination of existing common garden experiments and sampling from natural populations, together with genomics and ecological niche models, we aim to identify adaptive potential to climate change across scales and over time. Linking information about intraspecific genomic responses to climate will allow us to better predict population and species persistence under different future climate change scenarios. The project will likely involve a combination of field work at one or more Amazonian and/or Arctic locations, development of target sequence capture data, leverage of existing full genome data, and data synthesis using public databases.

The researcher will be hosted in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Christine D. Bacon. There will be ample opportunity for collaboration with other scientists in the Biological & Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, as well as at Lund University. The project is linked to the strategic research area BECC (Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate; http://www.becc.lu.se/).

Job assignments
This employment includes the following tasks:


• conducting independent and collaborative research
• responsibility for managing own workload
• production of scientific articles
• effective communication across the team and beyond
• including in seminars and conferences, amongst others.

Eligibility
The applicant must hold a PhD degree in an area relevant for the tasks at hand e.g., genomics, biodiversity research, computational biology, or conservation. The exam must be finished before closing date for this announcement.

Assessments
We are seeking a highly motivated person to take a leading role in this project. The following skills are crucial for this employment:


• expert skills in programming languages such as R, Python, Bash
• excellent communication skills in English, written and spoken

We will consider the following selection criteria for the applicant:


• previous scientific production (scientific publications and software, if applicable)
• specialist skills (genomic informatics and analysis)
• soft skills (communication, ability to collaborate, independence etc)

The employment
The employment is a full-time position for two years placed at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science. Start October 1st, 2020 or upon agreement.

For further information and how to apply

In order to apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to register an account in our online recruitment system https://www.gu.se/english/about_the_university/job-opportunities/vacancies-details/?id=6238. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline. The selection of candidates is made on the basis of the qualifications registered in the application.

The University of Gothenburg promotes equal opportunities, equality and diversity.

Salary is determined on an individual basis.

Applications will be destroyed or returned (upon request) two years after the decision of employment has become final. Applications from the employed and from those who appeal the decision will not be returned.


In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.