[Austria] PhD Positions in Population Genetics at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
It is well understood that natural populations carry a wealth of molecular variation. While it has been assumed for a long time that most of this variation is neutral, there is increasing evidence that a large proportion is functionally different and thus subjected to different evolutionary forces.
After the first phase in the genomics projects, which were focusing on the sequencing of one genome for each species, the emphasis has now shifted to the genome wide characterization of natural variation. In particular the new generation of sequencing technology (454, Solexa etc.) is contributing to a hitherto unprecedented wealth of information about naturally occurring sequence variation. Nevertheless, the advances in cataloging natural variation are not matched with our advances in understanding the functional differences among the naturally occurring alleles.
In the PhD program Population Genetics, we are aiming to train a new generation of scientists that is able to deal with this new challenge. The institute consists experimental as well as theoretical research groups spaning a wide range of the expertise from new sequencing technologies to bioinformatics to functional testing.
Available PhD projects
PhD advisors
The PhD program is open to applicants from all nationalities. The VMU Wien is an equal opportunity employer and particularly encourages applications from women and handicapped persons.
Applicants should hold a degree in life sciences or related fields with the equivalent of 300 ECTS; outstanding candidates may be considered with less than 300 ECTS
We are seeking motivated candidates that are interested in pursuing a PhD in an internationally competitive research environment
The official guidelines of the PhD program are available here.
The application package consists of:
- Motivation letter (Please state for which project and research group you are applying and why.)
- CV
- Certificates (university degrees, special qualifications)
- Indication of proficiency in English
- Two letters of recommendation
- Names and contact details of two academic references
The application package should be emailed as a single pdf (<1Mb) to Carolin Kosiol, carolin.kosiol@vu-wien.ac.at Only complete applications will be considered.
Time line
1 April 2009 announcement of the 2009 call
15 May 2009 deadline for receipt of applications
1 June 2009 announcement of short listed candidates
15-19 June 2009 interview of short-listed candidates
1 July 2009 positions will be offered to selected candidates
1 August 2009 deadline for joining the PhD program
1 Octobre 2009 start of PhD
The host institution: VMU Wien
The VMU Wien has a strong commitment to basic research and encourages cultural diversity. The new campus offers spacious offices, modern wet lab facilities, specialized fly equipment, state of the art microscopes (including confocal), a transcriptomics/proteomics facility and a 60 node Unix cluster are available on site. Additional clusters will be available to the participants of the PhD program at the Universität Wien.
Vienna research area
The Vienna research area provides an exceptional research environment. Four major life science universities and three world-class research institutes (GMI, IMBA, IMP) provide a dynamic and interactive setting. In particular for population genetics and evolutionary biology, the Vienna research area provides excellent prospects. Strong groups working on subjects related to population genetics are located in the Vienna research area: mathematics, statistics, and bioinformatics (e.g.: Reinhard Bürger, Andreas Futschik, David Kreil, Peter Schuster, Karl Sigmund) evolutionary biology (e.g: Konrad Fiedler, Elisabeth Haring, Gerd B. Müller, Dustin Penn, Gerhard Steiner, Johannes Spaethe, Michael Wagner).
Vienna hosts an active Drosophila community (Barry Dickson, Jürgen Knoblich, Wolfgang Miller, Leonie Ringrose, and Christian Schlötterer) and the onsite availability of the Drosophila RNAi center provides a great opportunity for functional Drosophila work.
