The postdoc position is part of a European Biodiversa+ funded project called FunDive – Monitoring and mapping fungal diversity for nature conservation. The consortium consists of partners from 16 European countries. The Dutch partner in this project is funded by NWO and the project will run from April 2024 to March 2027. 

Fungi are increasingly regarded as networkers, recyclers and symbionts in nature, and as crucial active agents for sustainable society transformation and innovation. New methods have enabled much deeper insight into fungal biodiversity and distribution. Citizen science has emerged as a highly engaging approach to data collection involving a rich community of amateur mycologists. The development of molecular tools that allow us to explore environmental fungal DNA from different substrates has boosted our ability to explore fungal communities. The overarching objective in FunDive is to bring both approaches together. However, they currently rely on different species concepts – the morphological species concept versus DNA barcode-based Species Hypotheses respectively – hindering comparisons of species lists across datasets. Hence, an important objective in FunDive is to provide a much improved platform for consistent naming of fungal taxa. Within this project, Naturalis will specifically focus on unlocking the potential of fungal type specimens, to unambiguously name fungal species.

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to contribute to FunDive and lead extensive efforts to sequence type specimens and thereby fix the use of scientific binomials and respective Species Hypotheses in UNITE – a database and sequence management environment providing identification of fungi based on rDNA ITS sequences and their communication via DOIs. Preliminary agreements show that we will have access to several thousands of types from major and smaller fungaria for sequencing and taxonomic interpretation. Developing sequencing protocols for specimens with degraded DNA will be an important achievement. On top of this, European species in need of epitypification need to be identified by compiling cases where the holotype, lectotype, or previously designated neotype, or all original material associated with a validly published name, cannot be identified for the purpose of the precise application of the name to a species. In collaboration with other partners of the FunDive project, efforts will be made to epitypify these species.

• PhD qualification in mycology or a related discipline; 
• Strong scientific track record;
• Technical/scientific expertise in molecular lab work, DNA extraction, amplification, sequencing techniques;
• Expertise in working with fungarium/herbarium material, taxonomy, nomenclature, typification and species delimitation in fungi;
• Experience with phylogenetic analyses, bioinformatics and species delimitation techniques;
• Experience with genomic techniques, ancient DNA and phylogenomics (not essential, but a plus);
• Teamplayer, ideally with experience in multidisciplinary consortium projects;
• Strong motivation and ability to think creatively;
• Excellent communication, collaboration and networking skills;
• Excellent level of written and oral English.

Fixed-term contract: one year, to be possibly extended with 22 months after successful evaluation.

We offer a contract (36 hours per week) for a period of one year, to be possibly extended with 22 months after successful evaluation and a monthly starting salary between € 3,468.- and € 4,506.- gross per month (depending on relevant experience). The starting date is the first of June at the latest. You also get an allowance for travel expenses, holiday allowance (8%) and year-end bonus (3.4%).The successful candidate will be employed by Naturalis in Leiden. We provide a vibrant and inspiring working environment, with ample support to our scientific staff by our Research Coordination Office and provide access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and the 43 million natural history objects in our collection. At Naturalis you will get the opportunity to develop your research career and to cooperate with inspiring colleagues. 

Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden is the Dutch national research institute for biodiversity and systematics. We host over 120 researchers including 15 academia embedded professors, 50 PhD students and 20 postdoctoral fellows. We closely collaborate with many Dutch universities, research institutes, industry, and government. With our collection of 43 million specimens, one of the world's largest natural history collections, and our state-of-the-art research facilities we offer the (inter)national research infrastructure for species identification and monitoring (for example in the ARISE and eDentity projects). We present the history of our planet, and the diversity of life on Earth, through permanent and temporary museum exhibitions, educational programmes, and online presence, with more than 400,000 visitors per year. All in all, a unique combination of science and culture in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world! 

Biodiversity is the basis of our life on earth and a better understanding of biodiversity, from species through to interaction networks, ecosystem functions and services is key to underpin nature conservation as well as our life in harmony with nature. At Naturalis the focus is often the species. We aim to know all species, to be able to detect them anywhere and to understand their distribution, their roles in networks and ecosystems. 

We are witnessing alarming biodiversity declines with probably 1 million species currently threatened with extinction. Biodiversity loss is recognized as one of the most significant threats to our sustainable future which calls for serious action. Naturalis can play an important role in the transformation to a more biodiverse society and will: 

• Foster excellence in science and innovation in the field of biology and earth sciences;
• Provide a vibrant scientific environment for early- and mid-career researchers;
• Provide and maintain state-of-the-art (inter)national research infrastructure;
• Further support and strengthen the national research community in biodiversity;
• Further develop an extensive (inter)national network that connects academia, society, government, industry and the general public;
• Extend our outreach to the general public, decision-makers and future generations, e.g. by using citizen science;
• Expand our role in Dutch national science policy by calling for an ambitious biodiversity strategy in societal and political agendas. 

Find out more about our research, labs and collection. This postdoctoral position will be based in the Understanding Evolution group.