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Direction du Personnel Rue de Bruxelles, 61 B-5000 Namur Tél. : +32 (0)81 72 40 40 Fax : +32 (0)81 72 40 48 |
Le Conseil d'administration de
l'Université de Namur annonce la vacance du(des) poste(s) suivant(s) |
PhD position in evolutionary and molecular biology
Département : Unité de Recherche en Biologie Environnementale et Evolutive
Date d'entrée en fonction : 1/2/2017
Grade : Boursier doctorat
Contrat : durée déterminée un an renouvelable
Catégorie : personnel scientifique
Poste : Hors-Allocation (CPO)
Missions
A PhD position is available to study extreme stress responses in the notorious bdelloid rotifers, UNamur, BE
A PhD position is available immediately to start working on the oxidative stress responses of bdelloid rotifers following desiccation and radiation within the group of Prof. Karine Van Doninck (Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology) and Dr. Florence Chainiaux at the University of Namur (Belgium).
While several metazoan asexual lineages exist, the most notorious and successful clade is the bdelloid rotifers containing at least 460 morphospecies that seems to have evolved for tens of millions of years without sexual reproduction (including fertilization and meiosis with pairing of homologous chromosomes). Besides their asexual mode of reproduction, they are also well-known for their extreme desiccation and radiation resistance. Entering a desiccated state is however harmful in most animals and is expected to be accompanied by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), known to induce damages at the DNA, protein and lipid level if not neutralized by antioxidants. This PhD project will study and characterize in detail the oxidative stress generated during desiccation and radiation in the model bdelloid species Adineta vaga and investigate their antioxidant responses. Being funded by the European Space Agency, this Phd will also investigate the impact of simulated micro gravity on oxidative stress responses and be involved in space mission preparation.
Prof. Karine Van Doninck recently acquired an ERC Consolidator Grant to study the mechanisms of genome evolution in the absence of meiosis in bdelloid rotifers; this ERC CoG will start in 2017. This PhD will join a very dynamic research lab including nowadays 5 postdocs, 2 PhD students and 3 technicians at UNamur. We employ interdisciplinary approaches (cellular and molecular biology, comparative genomics, bioinformatics and community level) to study evolutionary processes in the absence of sex and the mechanisms of extreme resistances. Our team obtained the first draft genome of the bdelloid rotifer A. vaga (Flot_etal_2013_Nature), we have optimized desiccation and radiation protocols (Hespeels_etal_2014_JEB) and recently we discovered horizontal gene transfer between A. vaga individuals sampled in the wild (Debortoli_etal_2016_Current Biology). Our laboratory works for this project in close collaboration with Dr. F. Chainiaux at UNamur, studying ageing and oxidative stress in human, with Prof. S. Lucas at LARN (UNamur) for the radiation experiments, with Prof. B. Hallet at UCL (Belgium) specialized in DNA repair studies and with Dr. S. Baatout of the SCK-CEN radiobiology unit (Mol, Belgium) for the microgravity experiments.
Profil
Applicants should have a Msc degree in Biology or Molecular Life Sciences or Medical Biology with a specialization in molecular biology, evolutionary genetics, biochemistry or similar.
The successful candidate should be proficient in English and should demonstrate his motivation to do a Phd and work in a multidisciplinary research team with a highly collaborative spirit.
Renseignements complémentaires
For more information contact Prof. Karine Van Doninck, karine.vandoninck@unamur.be or Dr. Boris Hespeels, boris.hespeels@unamur.be from the University of Namur, Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology (http://www.lege-unamur.be).
Remarques
Interested applicants should send :
- a cover letter (briefly describing research experience, interests, and career goal);
- curriculum vitae (with list of publications if any);
- and the names of three references (including address, phone number and Email)
to Karine VAN DONINCK (karine.vandoninck@unamur.be).
The closing date for applications is 31st of January 2017.
This PhD position is for 1 year and can start beginning of February 2017, being funded by two projects, ESA (European Space Agency) and ARC (Actions de Recherche Concertées). An extension of another 3 years is possible but the candidate will be encouraged to apply for its own FRIA or FNRS Belgian PhD grant.
