The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) is seeking a postdoctoral researcher for the EU-funded project VOLARE to study the molecular mechanism of plant volatile modification and perception by insects.

Plant leaves can emit large amounts of volatiles into the air. When attacked by insects, the composition of these blends changes markedly. It is well known that these changes can affect the behavior of insects interacting with the plant. This project is aimed at (1) unraveling pleiotropic effects of an insect derived modulator of plant volatiles and (2) increasing our knowledge on odorant perception and transmission in the model species, the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta.

You will be carrying out transcriptomic profiling of larval and adult insects. This includes RNAseq sample and sequencing, library preparation as well as bio-computational analysis of the data. You will furthermore perform protein affinity assays, embryo microinjections, GC-MS analyses, behavioural assays and bioassays with insect pathogens to functionally analyse genes of interest. You will also be end-responsible for the rearing of the Manduca colony.

This work will be done in close collaboration with the department of Evolutionary and Population Biology (EPB/IBED).

You have:

• a PhD in Insect Molecular Biology or Neuroentomology;
• experience with all aspects of high throughput sequencing (such as RNAseq and post-sequencing bio-computational analysis), embryo microinjections and CRISPR/Cas9-technology as well as protein affinity assays;
• affinity with specialized plant metabolites as well as experience with behavioral assays (e.g. wind tunnel experiments, choice-assays, chemotaxis assays) is appreciated but not essential;
• excellent communication skills including a good command of the English language, be willing to supervise students and be keen to work in collaboration with people inside and outside the Plant Physiology group.

Fixed-term contract: One year.

The appointment will be initially on a temporary basis for a period of 1 year. After satisfactory evaluations this can be extended with 3 more years to a total duration of 4 years. Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will be maximal €3,389 in year one (scale 10-5). The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities applies.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science – Institute for Logic, Language and Computation

he Faculty of Science has a student body of around 6,500, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The approximately 230 scientists and staff members of the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) work in 16 research groups that perform excellent research, centred on four themes:

1. Cell & Systems Biology;
2. Neurosciences;
3. Microbiology and
4. Green Life Sciences.

The theme Green Life Sciences consists of 5 research groups: Plant Physiology, Molecular Plant Pathology, Developmental Genetics, Plant Cell Biology and Plant Hormone Biology.

The research group Plant Physiology is interested in the mechanisms that allow antagonistic interactions to persist. We focus on plant-herbivore interactions to investigate:

1. the molecular and physiological basis of plant signaling cascades in response to biotic stress and
2. how insects can use and manipulate these stress induced plant responses.