The University of Luxembourg is a multilingual, international research University. The University of Luxembourg has the following vacancy at the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) in close collaboration with the University of Leuven (Belgium) and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (Austria): Postdoctoral researcher in Microbial Systems Ecology (m/f)

• Ref: R-AGR-0660-10-C / 50011481
• Fixed-term contract 3 years (may be extended up to 5 years in total)
• Full time (40h/week)
• Employee status (start date: as soon as possible)

Area: Modelling the Factors Governing Microbial Communities

We are seeking a highly motivated and creative scientist with an outstanding record in scientific research who can independently design and execute experiments. More specifically, we are seeking an individual with strong interests in microbial population ecology. The postdoctoral candidate to be hired will have a strong background in mathematics, physics, computer science, microbial ecology and/or bioinformatics. Knowledge of the factors which govern microbial community structure and function is essential to predict community dynamics and to control microbial ecosystems. In biological wastewater treatment plants, predictive understanding of the populations dynamics within the community is required to design sewage plants of the future. The post-doc researcher working on the GoMiCo project will integrate, analyse, and model time-resolved meta-omics data along with corresponding environmental and operational data to unravel the main biotic and abiotic factors governing microbial population dynamics. The aim of the GoMiCo project is to ascertain which factors affect community composition and will lead to the development of strategies for the control of specific populations. The developed approaches will be generalizable to other microbial communities including those constituting the human microbiome.

The Luxembourg National Research Fund-supported position will be hosted by the Eco-Systems Biology Group at LCSB (head: Prof. Paul Wilmes) in cooperation with Prof. Karoline Faust (KU Leuven), Dr Stefanie Widder (Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research) and Prof. Dr Joachim Hansen (University of Luxembourg).

Your Role

• Integration and analysis of multi-omic (metagenomic, metatranscriptomic and (meta-)metabolomics) data.
• Application of different time-series analysis methods to the data.
• Development of a model for predicting population dynamics based on biotic and abiotic factors.

Your Profile

• A PhD in microbial ecology, bioinformatics, mathematics, physics, or computer science.
• Strong publications record.
• Previous experience in microbiology and in analysing and/or modeling time-series community data are strongly encouraged.
• Previous wet-lab experience is considered an asset.
• Excellent working knowledge of English.

We offer

• Fully funded position.
• An exciting international environment.
• The University offers competitive salaries and is an equal opportunity employer.

For further information, please contact:

Prof. Dr Paul Wilmes
E-mail: paul.wilmes@uni.lu

Telephone: +352 46 66 44 6188