The chemistry of fear – indirect effects of predation in aquatic ecosystems

The overall goal of the PhD project is to gain new insights to the mechanisms and consequences of sensing and signaling in predator-prey interactions in aquatic foodwebs.

Prey organisms sense predators by chemical cues and respond by launching defensive traits such as vertical migration, bioluminescence, or toxin production, to avoid predation. The responses contribute to large scale phenomena such as harmful algal bloom formation and carbon sequestration. In the research group “Signals in the Sea” (https://www.pelagial.se/) we isolate the chemical alarm-cues, and explore their mechanism of action and effect from cellular to ecosystem level. You will use a combination of classical biological methods and state of the art techniques from chemistry and physics (LC-MS and GC-MS, AI driven microscopy, image-, and motion-analysis, in situ imaging rigs) to explore signaling systems and their consequences in aquatic ecology. The project typically involves a combination of field-, lab-, and computer based work. The successful candidate will be a devoted and curious explorer with a background in biology, physics, chemistry, or related fields and keen to interact with the vibrant multidisciplinary environment of the biology department at Lund University. Experience in plankton ecology, field work, programming, optics, academic writing, and/or image analysis are all meriting for the position.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if he or she:

  • has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
  • has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
  • has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Biology if he or she has passed an independent project (for example a degree project) of at least 30 credits in a relevant subject and have good oral and written proficiency in English.

Additional requirements

  • A MSC in molecular biology, chemistry, physics, or related area.
  • Excellent oral and written proficiency in English.
  • Experience in data processing, statistical computing, and scripting (R, Python, matlab or similar).
  • Demonstrated ability for proactive and independent work.

In addition to the mandatory requirements, documented experience in the following areas will be considered as strong merits:

  • Practical experience in video and/or image analysis, especially with deep learning.
  • Experience from lab and/or field work in plankton ecology.
  • Experience from analytical chemistry.
  • Experience in optics and/or deep learning.

Find more information about the position and how to apply at https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:922768/type:job/where:4/apply:1