Job announcement
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Universität Regensburg, Biologie I

Application deadline: 30. 1. 2012
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Prof Jürgen Heinze, Biologie I, Universität Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany http://www-evolution.uni-regensburg.de/index_en.html

We are looking for a highly motivated graduate student for a new 3 year doctoral project on the division of labor in the clonal ant Platythyrea punctata. The project will combine collecting ants in Central America, behavioral studies and manipulations of colony structure in the Regensburg lab, and subsequent gene expression studies using RNA-Seq. The doctoral candidate should start his / her work in spring 2012.

Applicants need an MSc / diploma in biology. They are expected to be enthusiastic about ants and ready to work independently in an international team of currently about 15 PhD students and postdocs. Experience with behavioral and / or molecular work with social insects would be welcome. Fluent English and the willingness to learn German during the first year of the project are required.

The doctoral candidate will enroll in the Regensburg International Graduate School of Life Sciences http://www.biologie.uni-regensburg.de/RIGeL/, which offers a well-structured PhD program designed to train students in scientific methodology and thinking and to help them improve their soft skills. University of Regensburg achieved 1st place in the category “Living Average” in the "International Student Barometer" and was ranked “best place to live” in Europe for international students. Regensburg itself is famous for its long history, going back to a Roman fort on Danube River in Bavaria. Its medieval city center with stone bridge and cathedral is listed as UNESCO world cultural heritage.

Please send your application by e-mail before January 30 to the address given below. Your application should include a one-page letter explaining why you think you are the appropriate candidate for this work, your C.V., and the names and addresses of at least two referees who are ready to provide letter of support.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. Jürgen Heinze at juergen.heinze@biologie.uni-R.de

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze
Biologie I
Universität Regensburg
D-93040 Regensburg
Tel. --49 941 943 2475
Fax --49 941 943 3304
http://www.uni-regensburg.de/evolution