The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) develops the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural resources. The university ranks well internationally within its subject areas. SLU is a research-intensive university that also offers unique degree programmes in for example rural development and natural resource management, environmental economics, animal science and landscape architecture.

The research of the Department of Plant Biology focusses on plants, but other organisms such as virus, bacteria, fungi, insects, yeast cells and even human cells are also studied. Our main areas or research are: the interaction between plants and microorganisms, and other forms of stress; biotechnology and metabolic engineering; growth and development of plants; the regulation of gene expression; population genetics, genome analysis and the development of breeding systems. Species in use are model organisms such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Physcomitrella, tobacco and yeast, and crops such as rapeseed, basket willow (Salix), potato, barley, rye, wheat and cassava. The department is responsible for basic courses and advanced courses in general and molecular genetics, gene technology, cell biology, plant physiology, gene expression, plant breeding, plant biochemistry and biotechnology, molecular interactions between plants and pathogens. Besides, the department contributes to various other biology courses together with other departments. The courses are part of the masters programs in biotechnology and natural resources, and the programs for students in agriculture and landscape architecture, but most courses are open for external students as well.

Duties:

We are looking for a highly motivated individual to join our ongoing research projects on elucidating the impact of mating type on the establishment and maintenance of species reproductive isolation. The main focus of the project is to use a combination of ecological genetics, common garden experiments and field studies to estimate the contribution of postzygotic barriers in limiting gene flow between two sympatric species. The position is associated with the research groups of Claudia Köhler and Adrien Sicard at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala.

Qualifications:

The candidate should have proven expertise in molecular genetics, ecological statistics and plant field biology. Prior practical experience in the analysis of large nucleotide sequence datasets and bioinformatic skills are assets. Excellent English communication and writing skills are expected. A PhD in molecular biology, genetics, or ecology is required. As postdoctoral appointments are career-developing positions for junior researchers, we are primarily looking for candidates with a doctoral degree that is three years old at most.

Contact person

Claudia Köhler, Professor, Claudia.Kohler@slu.se