The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) is looking for a PhD candidate in molecular and cellular biology.

This project is part of the EU funded Marie Curie ITN MEICOM project, which focuses on the control of meiotic processes in plants, in particular the influence of genomic environment on crossover formation/control in crops.

The aim of this project is to develop and implement novel strategies for modifying crossover patterning in target crops. The PhD candidate will develop a fast and high throughput protocol based on FACS sorting and Optical mapping to determine the distribution of recombination hot spots from a large collection of recombination events. This approach allows us to rapidly examine the effects of chemicals and environmental stress conditions on the position and frequency of meiotic crossovers. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with other members of the MEICOM consortium.

The PhD candidate has an MSc diploma and adequate experience in molecular and cell biology and affinity with microscopical techniques. Interest in meiosis is recommended.

NOTE: due to EU regulations the PhD candidate has not worked or studied in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to the reference date and must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree.

The appointment will be on a temporary basis for a period of 4 years (initial appointment will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it can be extended for a total duration of 4 years) and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). An educational plan will be drafted that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. The PhD student is also expected to assist in teaching of undergraduates.

Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €2,222  in the first year to €2,840 in the last year.. The Collective Labour Agreement (cao) for Dutch Universities is applicable.

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.

http://www.uva.nl/en/home

Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences

The Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS) is one of the largest institutes of the Faculty of Science. Its approximately 240 scientists and staff members work in 16 research groups that perform excellent research centered on three themes: 1) Cell & Sytems Biology, 2) Neurosciences, and 3) Molecular Life Sciences.

The research group Plant Development and (Epi)Genetics investigates the molecular mechanisms by which sets of genes generate the diversity of shapes, structures and colors that we see in plants. In this context we are seeking for a PhD candidate in molecular and cellular biology.

http://sils.uva.nl/