澳大利亚联邦科工组织植物共生体生态基因组学博士后职位

The Position:

CSIRO offers PhD graduates an opportunity to launch their scientific careers through our Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) Postdoctoral Fellowships. Successful applicants will work with leaders in the field of science and receive personal development and learning opportunities.

Applications are invited for a 3-year OCE Postdoctoral Fellowship in ecological genomics of plant-symbiont interactions. In this role you will explore the fundamental question of what drives symbiotic soil microbe diversity and function at the population level, with a view to applications in ecological restoration and revegetation. In particular, research increasingly demonstrates that land use intensification alters the diversity and composition of symbiotic soil microbes. The project aims to understand whether these changes limit outcomes of restoration or revegetation, through a genomics approach to understanding adaptation and dispersal in plant symbionts.

Specifically you will:

• Design and conduct field sampling of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) associated with Acacia as the basis for understanding environmental determinants of genomic variation.
• Manage and analyse large survey and experimental datasets that combine ecological and genetic data.
• Design and conduct field or glasshouse experiments including culturing of rhizobia, to test hypotheses about microbial adaptation
• Carry out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will where possible lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.

Location: Floreat, Western Australia
Salary: $78K to $88K plus up to 15.4% superannuation (pension fund)
Tenure: 3 years
Reference: WA14/01279

To be successful in this position you will have:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as evolutionary ecology of soil microbes.
• Demonstrated capability to design, conduct and publish innovative research in the ecology and genetics of plant-symbiont interactions.
• Experience in culturing and maintaining plant-symbionts, and in designing and conducting surveys and experiments involving sampling and manipulation of plant-symbiont.;
• Expertise in statistical modelling or bioinformatics using large datasets.