Ref SLU.ua.2023.2.5.1-942

The Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology was founded in the late 1970s – when the College of Forestry moved to Umeå. The number of employees has since grown steadily is now around 100, including postdoctoral researchers and postgraduate students. In the late 1990s it was decided to join with the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University to form a research center, Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC). The Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology moved into the premises adjacent to the partner department and together have developed a close and successful collaboration on research issues, technology platforms, and training of master’s and doctoral level students. The international element within UPSC is large, with over 40 nationalities represented.

The department conducts introductory and advanced training in plant physiology, ecophysiology, plant molecular biology, forest genetics and forest biotechnology within the Forestry program and at the master level.

The department offers postgraduate studies in biology, specializing in plant physiology, ecophysiology, plant molecular biology and forest genetics. Postgraduate courses are generally held in cooperation with the Department of Plant Physiology.
For more information about the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology and UPSC visit www.upsc.se.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/

ERC-funded PhD position at SLU: How plants deal with heat and cold at the cellular level

Postgraduate subject: Biology

Description:

Temperatures below or above the physiological optimum for plant growth induce temperature stress, which can cause detrimental and irreversible damage to plant growth and development. While most of the studies to date have focused on big-picture elements of plant responses to climate change, our research will provide insights into the molecular and cellular responses, to improve our mechanistic understanding of plant acclimation to heat and cold stress. The project will mainly work with the root of the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana. and will combine state-of-the-art approaches, e.g. various microscopy techniques, molecular and cell biology, biochemistry and genetic screens.

Qualifications:

To be admitted for studies at third-cycle level the applicant is required to have completed a second-cycle level degree, or completed course requirements of at least 240 ECTS credits, of which at least 60 ECTS credits are at second-cycle level, or have an equivalent education from overseas, or equivalent qualifications. The applicant should have a strong interest for plant biology, and a background in plant cell and molecular biology. Previous experience working with Arabidopsis is advantage. The successful candidate is expected to have good social skills and the ability to do research independently, as well as in a team. Furthermore, good oral and writing skills in English are essential qualifications.

Place of work:

Umeå

Forms for funding or employment:

Employment (4 years)

Starting date:

2023-09-01 or as agreed.

Application:

Click the “Apply” button to submit your application. The deadline is 2023-04-15.

To qualify for third-cycle (Doctoral) courses and study programmes, you must have a second-cycle (Master’s) qualification. Alternatively, you must have conducted a minimum of four years of full-time study, of which a minimum of one year at second-cycle level.

Applicants will be selected based on their written application and CV, degree project, copies of their degree certificate and transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution, two personal references, and knowledge of English. More information about the English language requirements can be found here: www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/new-doctoral-students/english-language-requirements/

Please note that applicants invited to interview must submit attested copies of their degree certificate, a transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution. Applicants who are not Swedish citizens need to submit an attested copy of their passport’s information page containing their photograph and personal details.

Read about the PhD education at SLU at www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/

Academic union representatives:

https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se

Contact person

Petra Marhava

Researcher

Firstname.surname@slu.se

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply

Post expires on Saturday April 15th, 2023

Ref SLU.ua.2023.2.5.1-703

Department of Forest Ecology and Management

The advertised position is based in Umeå, Sweden, at the Department of forest ecology and management (Swedish university of agricultural sciencees). 

The department includes about 100 people of which 11 are professors. Our mission is to advance the understanding of forest ecosystem processes and to progress the principles of forest ecosystem management. For more information: http://www.slu.se/en/departments/forest-ecology-management/  

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/

Project title: Forest regeneration and belowground competition between trees and seedlings

Research subject: Biology

Description:

Interest in alternatives to clearcut rotational forest management is growing. But transitioning to various continuous cover forestry systems or closer to nature forestry requires that adequate forest regeneration can be secured without clearcuts and possibly also without conventional site preparation measures. However, it is common to find very poor seedling growth and several near overstory trees – especially (but not exclusively) in northern pine forests. It has been shown for multiple tree species that shading by overstory canopies cannot fully explain this poor growth, leading to consideration of belowground limitations and competition with larger trees. The current project will use stable isotope labelling techniques to investigate the role of competition for nitrogen. Specifically, the project will test a hypothesis that competition within ectomycorrhizal networks aggravates the situation for small seedlings near large trees. A series of new large-scale field experiments will be established in the initial phase of the project, and the PhD student will be integral to managing them, and will be the main author on scientific publications of results from them.

The goals of the current project is 1) to test the role of belowground competition via mycorrhizal fungi on seedling establishment, 2) identify where the competition effects are the most severe, and 3) to provide a mechanistic understanding of how and where forest regeneration is hampered by nearby trees. This is crucial if alternatives to current forest management practices are to be developed.

The announced PhD position is fully funded for four years, with the expectation that the student will defend their doctoral thesis at the end of this time period. The successful applicant will work under the supervision of Nils Henriksson, professor Torgny Näsholm, and associate professor Sandra Jämtgård at the department of forest ecology and management (Swedish university of agricultural sciences, Umeå, Sweden). The PhD student will belong to a research group with broad expertise ranging from plant physiology and nutrition to forest ecophysiology, which will provide both support and opportunities for scientific discussion and exchange. The group has well established expertise in using stable isotope techniques for studying ecophysiological processes in field, greenhouse, and lab environments.

Applications from Sweden and from abroad are welcome.

Qualifications:

Basic requirements

• MSc degree in a relevant subject area (biology, ecology, forest science, ecophysiology etc.)
• Good English communication skills (written and spoken)
• Basic knowledge of statistical software (such as R or JMP) is an advantage
• Strong work ethic

Meritous

• Experience with scientific field studies is an advantage, but not required
• Experience with independent work and organizing your own work schedule
• Comfortable working with others

Place of work:

Umeå

Forms for funding or employment:

Employment as PhD student, full time for 4 years

Starting date:

Spring/Summer of 2023

Application:

Click the “Apply” button to submit your application. The deadline is March 31 2023

Applications should be written in English, and include the following:

• CV
• A cover letter, introducing yourself snd your reason for applying for the position
• Short (max 1 page) description of your scientific background, research interests, and how you fulfill the qualifications listed above.
• Copies of degree certificates (or corresponding documents), and other relevant documents and certificates (such as English scores, for instance)
• Names and contact info for two professional references.

To qualify for third-cycle (Doctoral) courses and study programmes, you must have a second-cycle (Master’s) qualification. Alternatively, you must have conducted a minimum of four years of full-time study, of which a minimum of one year at second-cycle level.

Applicants will be selected based on their written application and CV, degree project, copies of their degree certificate and transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution, two personal references, and knowledge of English. More information about the English language requirements can be found here:

Please note that applicants invited to interview must submit attested copies of their degree certificate, a transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution. Applicants who are not Swedish citizens need to submit an attested copy of their passport’s information page containing their photograph and personal details.

Read about the PhD education at SLU at www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/ 

Academic union representatives:  

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se

Contact person

Nils Henriksson

firstname.lastname@slu.se

firstname.lastname@slu.se

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply

Post expires on Friday March 31st, 2023

Ref SLU.ua.2023.2.5.1-677

Department of Plant Biology

The Department of Plant Biology undertakes fundamental research on model organisms, agricultural crops, forest trees and bioenergy crops. Our main areas of research comprise the interaction of plants with microorganisms and other environmental stresses, plant growth and development, biotechnology and metabolic engineering, regulation of gene expression, population genetics, genome analysis and the development of breeding systems. Species in use are model organisms such as Arabidopsis, Physcomitrella, tobacco, crops such as rapeseed, basket willow (Salix), potato and cereals, and pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and fungi/oomycetes.

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, and molecular interactions between plants and pathogens. Besides, the department contributes to various other courses together with other departments.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/

Postgraduate study subject: Biology

Description:

A PhD position is available at the department to investigate the mechanisms behind parasitic plant infection. Despite their global prevalence and agricultural importance, we have little understanding of how parasitic plants modify host development to successfully invade and infect.

The aim of this PhD position is to build upon recent discoveries made in parasitic plant infection (Kokla et al. 2022 Nature Communications 13 (1) 2976, Leso et al 2023 BioRxiv) and use these findings to understand how parasitic plants change host development to allow infection. The project will use transcriptomics and reverse genetic approaches to identify genes that can be modified in the host to affect infection. The project will include several international collaborators and will focus on understanding the role of cell wall modifications, cell division and vascular biology to ultimately better understand how parasitic plants infect. 

The PhD position is funded by a project grant from the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), and the successful applicant will work in the group of Charles Melnyk (https://melnyklab.com/) for four years. The department is located in Uppsala BioCenter at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Uppsala is a lively university city, conveniently located close to Stockholm (40 minutes by train) and Stockholm’s main international airport (20 minutes by train).

Qualifications:

Candidates should have an MSc degree or have completed four years of university-level education including one year at MSc level. The degree and courses should be related to plant biology, molecular biology, cell biology or related knowledge that the employer considers equivalent. Prior experience with genetics, plants, transcriptomics, microscopy and molecular biology are assets. Creativity, motivation and drive are important personal characteristics as is excellent proficiency in English since English is the working language in the research group. Candidates should also have an ability to conduct independent research, take initiative, ask pertinent scientific questions, and interact well with other scientists and students.

Place of work:

Uppsala.

Forms for funding or employment:

Employment (4 years).

Starting date:

According to agreement.

Application:

Click the “Apply” button to submit your application. The deadline is 2023-03-24.

To qualify for third-cycle (Doctoral) courses and study programmes, you must have a second-cycle (Master’s) qualification. Alternatively, you must have conducted a minimum of four years of full-time study, of which a minimum of one year at second-cycle level.

Applicants will be selected based on their written application, letter of motivation and CV, degree project, copies of their degree certificate and transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution, two personal references, and knowledge of English. More information about the English language requirements can be found here: www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/new-doctoral-students/english-language-requirements/

Please note that applicants invited to interview must submit attested copies of their degree certificate, a transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution. Applicants who are not Swedish citizens need to submit an attested copy of their passport’s information page containing their photograph and personal details.

Read about the PhD education at SLU at www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/

Academic union representatives:

https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se

Contact person

Charles Melnyk

Universitetslektor

Charles.Melnyk@slu.se

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply

Post expires on Friday March 24th, 2023

Ref SLU.ua.2023.2.5.1-634

SLU Swedish Species Information Centre

SLU Swedish Species Information Centre is a national center for species and habitats. We contribute to a sustainable management of the natural resources by collecting, analyzing and making data available, and by describing and presenting facts about biodiversity. We interact nationally and internationally, with the benefit of conservation in focus. Now we recruit a person who will model and project the distribution and dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystem services given scenarios for the future.

Duties

Depending on your expertise, you will develop models for the spatial distribution or dynamics of forest species, or make projections and optimizations using available models for biodiversity and ecosystem services assuming scenarios for the future. We answer ecological and conservation questions based om modelling distribution patterns or (meta)population dynamics of birds, beetles, plants, bryophytes, lichens and fungi. We further study how scenarios of socio-economic policy or development, climate change or forest management on different spatial scales (global, EU, landscape) may affect the future biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate. We also investigate conflicts and synergies between these responses using a simulation & optimization framework. The work is funded by Formas and the ForestValue project SustMultBiomass.

Qualifications

At the time of employment, the candidate must hold a PhD in ecology, conservation biology, forestry planning or equivalent. Required is earlier research on modeling species or community distribution or dynamics. Beneficial are research on forest use or on how land-use affects the climate. Good knowledge of analysis using the software R is desirable. Priority will be given to applicants who have completed their PhD within three years before the application deadline. This time span is however not a requirement – we are seeking a highly motivated person who is keen to contribute to this expanding, multidisciplinary research field.

Place of work: Uppsala

Form of employment: Temporary employment 24 months with possibility for extension

Extent: 100%

Starting date: According to agreement

Application: We welcome your application by April 2, 2023. Please use the Apply button below.

Specific documents attached: CV including list of publications, maximum three papers, a description of earlier research (maximum two pages), of current research interest and the research that you would like to conduct within the position (maximum two pages), name and address to at least two reference persons. We may ask you to send you PhD thesis at a later stage.

Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is a world-class international university with research, education and environmental assessment within the sciences for sustainable life. Its principal sites are in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, but activities are also conducted at research stations, experimental parks and educational establishments throughout Sweden. We bring together people who have different perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for a sustainable, thriving and better world.

SLU has just over 3,000 employees, 5,000 students and a turnover of SEK 3 billion. The university has invested heavily in a modern, attractive environment on its campuses.

www.slu.se

Contact person

Tord Snäll

Professor

+46-(0)76-7662612

firstname.lastname@slu.se

Read the job description at the university homepage

Apply

Post expires on Sunday April 2nd, 2023