Postdoctoral scholarship, 2 years, in molecular plant physiology

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoc for the project "How is the secret messages of the cell translated" in Johannes Hanson's research group in collaboration with Hannele Tuominen's research group. The postdoctoral scholarship is going to be placed at the Department of Plant Physiology (Umeå University), which is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre. The scholarship refers to full-time studies for two years with starting date 1 May 2023 or as agreed.

Last day to apply: April 8, 2023

Project description

Translation is highly regulated process and recent findings have shown thousands of mRNAs to be regulated at the level of translation in plants as well as in other organisms. We have revealed that translational regulation plays crucial roles during development where metabolic activity is either inhibited or restarted after dormancy. A typical example of this process is how translational regulation play an important role during seed development and germination, where mRNAs are stored in the dry seed to be translated specifically during germination. We are also investigating this in perennials that undergo winter dormancy. We will primarily use Ribo-Seq methodology to characterize the translational activities during winter in our primary model poplar. We also want to follow translation on cellular resolution using transgenic plants with tagged ribosomes expressed in specific cells.

Qualifications

To be eligible as a postdoctoral fellow, a completed doctoral degree or a foreign degree deemed equivalent to a doctoral degree is required. This eligibility requirement must be met at the latest at the time when the decision on scholarship recipients is made. Priority should be given to candidates who completed their doctoral degree, according to what is stipulated in the paragraph above, no later than three years prior. If there are special reasons, candidates who completed their doctoral degree prior to that may also be eligible. Special reasons include absence due to illness, parental leave, appointments of trust in trade union organizations, military service, or similar circumstances, as well as clinical practice or other forms of appointment/assignment relevant to the subject area.

Successful candidates will have a PhD degree, or equivalent, in plant molecular biology or biochemistry. The candidate should have extensive laboratory experience with bio-chemical methods and molecular biology. The ability to be independent as well as cooperate in a team, and good skills in the English language, are required.

Experience with plants as model system is an advantage. Experience with next generation sequencing as well as proficiency using the R statistical programming language is an advantage. The candidate should also have far-reaching interest in inter- and intra-cellular signaling mechanisms. We value your creativity, ability to communicate and ability to take own initiatives.

Application

The application should contain:

1. A personal letter, max 2 pages, that describes your qualifications, research interests, and motivation for application.
2. CV with full publication list
3. Copies of doctoral degree certificate and other relevant degree certificates and grades,
4. Copy of doctoral thesis,
5. Contact information of two referees,
6. Other documents wished to be claimed.

Your complete application, marked with reference number FS 2.1.6-390-23, must be submitted as a pdf-document to medel@diarie.umu.se (state the reference number as subject) at latest 2023-04-08.

Contact

Further information can be obtained from Dr. Johannes Hanson, johannes.hanson@umu.se or Dr. Hannele Tuominen, hannele.tuominen@slu.se.

About the Research Environment

The Department of Plant Physiology is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) which is a centre of excellence for experimental plant research and forest biotechnology in Northern Sweden. Our mission is to perform excellent and innovative basic research and generate knowledge that benefits forestry, agriculture, environment and society. We work across a wide range of disciplines in plant science reaching from cell biology to ecophysiology and from basic research to industrial applications. Our common goal is to understand the plants’ ability to grow, adapt and acclimate to a changing world and how we can breed better plants.

UPSC belongs to two universities, Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). About 200 people from more than 40 different nationalities work here. We host some 30 principal investigators, and our researchers have access to state-of-the-art analytical platforms, unique tree germplasm resources and plant growth facilities. We strive for a collaborative work environment and support our scientists throughout all career stages by providing professional training opportunities and individual career mentoring.

Umeå University is dedicated to providing creative environments for learning and work. We offer a wide variety of courses and programs, world leading research, and excellent innovation and collaboration opportunities. 4000 employees and nearly 34000 students have already chosen Umeå University.

Umeå has a strong postdoc community organised in the Umeå Postdoc Society (UPS). UPS fosters networking amongst postdocs, organises social and career development events and works towards improving the postdoc experience in Umeå. Check out their website: https://umeapostdocsociety.se/ and do not hesitate to get in contact with them!