Job announcement
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Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Department for Evolutionary Biology

application deadline: 15.11.2009
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Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen

The Department for Evolutionary Biology (Director Ralf J. Sommer) invites applications for a

Postdoctoral Position on Nematode Population Genetics.

The Department has an active research program in evolutionary ecology and evolutionary developmental biology studying the nematode model organism Pristionchus pacificus, the genome of which has recently been sequenced (Dieterich et al., Nature Genetics, 40, 1193-1198 (2008)). Our research aims for an integration of evo-devo with population genetics and ecology (see Sommer, Nat. Rev. Genet. 10, 416-422 (2009).

P. pacificus lives in close association with scarab beetles and feeds on microbes that grow on the carcass of the dead beetle. Our model species is cosmopolitan and we have currently more than 160 wild isolates representing an enormous resource for natural variation. We are starting a population genetic analysis of P. pacificus with a particular emphasis on La Réunion in the Indian Ocean. The Max-Planck Institute provides large-scale sequencing facilities, including next generation sequencing technology.

Experience in population genetics is absolutely required.

The position is for two years with a possible extension for one more year.

Funding would be available from 1. February 2010.

Closing date for applications: 15. November 2009

Please submit applications to:

Ralf J. Sommer
Dept. for Evolutionary Biology
Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
72076 Tübingen, Germany
ralf.sommer@tuebingen.mpg.de
http://www.eb.tuebingen.mpg.de/dept4/home.html
http://www.pristionchus.org