30 PhD Fully Funded Positions and 2 Post-doctoral Positions in Plant Biology

The DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center CRC 1644 “Phenotypic plasticity in plants – mechanisms, constraints and evolution”, hosted at the University of Potsdam jointly with its partner institutions MPI for Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Hasso Platt-ner Institute Potsdam, IGZ Großbeeren, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and University of Co-logne, invites applications for

30 PhD student and 2 post-doctoral positions in the field of plant phenotypic plasticity, with a focus on quantitative genetics, cell, develop-mental and molecular biology, physiology, plant ecology, metabolomics, and computational modelling.

We offer 30 PhD and 2 postdoc positions in plant biology and related disciplines thanks to our new DFG-funded CRC1644 – Phenotypic Plasticity of Plants. We offer interdisciplinary PhD projects merging quantitative biology & genetics, cell & developmental biology, plant physiology & ecology, microscopy, metabolomics, and computational modeling & automated image analysis.

Your research benefits from our modern plant growth & imaging facilities and the excellent scientific infrastructure. Guidance through your PhD by experienced international researchers who are leaders in their disciplines. Don’t miss your chance to join our team of young and international scientists and help shape the rapidly evolving research field of plant plasticity.

The approved first funding period for CRC 1644 is from 1 April 2024 to 31 December 2027. Employment is thus possible for up to 45 months. The positions will be located at the University of Potsdam or one of the partner institutions named above.

Plants have colonised almost every habitat on Earth. A major feature that has enabled this success is the remarkable ability of plants to adjust their growth and development to variable environments. The ability of a given genotype to generate different phenotypes in different environments is termed phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity is a universal feature of life, and understanding its molecular basis and evolution is a fundamental goal in biology that forms the focus of CRC 1644.

To achieve this goal, our consortium integrates genetics, cell and devel-opmental biology, physiology, evolutionary biology, functional ecology, computational biology and mathematical modeling. We strive for a step-change in our understanding of plant pheno-typic plasticity as an evolving trait of critical importance for crop breeding and to the fate of plant populations under environmental change.

CRC 1644 provides an outstanding research infrastructure including a large interdisciplinary network of researchers, state-of-the-art facilities, and funding opportunities for conference vis-its, summer schools, hosting international experts, and acquistion of soft skills. CRC 1644 strives to increase the proportion of women in STEM research.

The PhD student positions are available in projects A1 to B7, as indicated on the website. The post-doctoral positions are in computational biology in project Z2.

Your Application:

Your application should include a CV, a letter of motivation stating the positions (with position IDs) you are applying for and explaining why you wish to pursue a PhD and why you have chosen the respective projects to apply for, relevant certificates, names and addresses for two academic referees, and the completed form that you can find here for download: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/ppp/job-portal/jobs.  Please apply by the deadline of 31.01.2024 via email to mailcrc1644@uni-potsdam.de .

For more information on: the scientific framework of this call, individual projects, respective open positions and terms of employment, candidate responsibilities and required qualifications and online application procedure …visit APPLY NOW