Doctoral Researcher

Theoretical Microbial Ecology, University of Jena

commencing on the 1st of August 2025
We offer part-time position (65%, 26 hours per week), initially offered as a fixed-term position until 31.07.2028.

The Theoretical Microbial Ecology research group, led by Prof. Rosalind Allen, is part of the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Friedrich Schiller University. The group seeks to understand how microbes survive, grow and interact in complex and changing environments. The group is especially interested in how microbial communities assemble and function and how bacteria respond to antibiotics in the human body. To study these topics the group combines computational and theoretical models with lab experiments.

Application deadline: May 31, 2025

Postdoctoral Researcher Position in the Field of Vampiristic Interactions among Bacteria

Aquatic Geomicrobiology working group at the Institute of Biodiversity

Bacteria of the Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) represent more than 25% of the total bacterial diversity on Earth. However, knowledge about their life styles and metabolic properties is still scarce due to lack of cultured representatives. Limited de novo biosynthesis capabilities point to a host-dependent life style of CPR. This project aims to characterize physiological, metabolic and molecular features of a recently cultivated vampiristic member of the CPR with its host, obtained from groundwater. We will use transcriptomics, proteomics, and cryo-TEM to study mechanisms of cell-cell recognition, attachment, and the parasite’s strategies to exploit the host cell’s cellular resources. We further aim to identify molecular traits underlying host specificity. As our new Postdoc in this field, you will support and advance ongoing cultivation efforts with challenging CPR parasite-host systems and gain insight into the mechanisms of their interaction.

Application deadline: May 22, 2025