The Project
Tremendous progress has been made in the last decade in the genetic characterization of microorganisms in the environment. However, our knowledge of microbial membrane lipids, essential building blocks of the cell, has not kept up. Traditionally, membrane lipids are detected in environmental samples using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods which are processed through individual compound identification, resulting in a limited data set. With the advent of methods coupling ultra-high-pressure LC with high-resolution accurate mass MS (HRAM MS) the richness of the IPL data has significantly increased. However, carrying out individual compound identification and integration of the dominant IPLs on these big data sets is a labor-intensive task and only focuses on known lipids. An unbiased, untargeted lipidomic approach would have the potential to reveal patterns in IPL diversity in environmental samples which can be linked to specific environments or groups of microbes, without anticipating what is expected to be found.

As part of the MICROLIPIDS ERC project, the department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry is looking for an enthusiastic and independent postdoc to develop and apply novel lipidomic methodology to the study of IPLs in environmental samples. This will involve using software to process and analyze HRAM MS data. Preliminary work has already started and applied with success to sample sets of interest. The ideal candidate has a background in organic biogeochemistry, microbial ecology or analytical chemistry with a strong background in LC-MS techniques and an interest in data handling.

Due to the international character of the research group, excellent English communication skills are expected.

We are offering a fulltime position that is available now and runs until 31 July 2021, a pension scheme, a yearly 8% vacation allowance, year-end bonus and flexible employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement of Research Centers. The position will be located on Texel. Cost of relocation and help with housing is provided by NIOZ.

The Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry on Texel performs detailed studies on microbial communities in the marine environment. We study the diversity, physiology and activity of phytoplankton, prokaryotes (archaea and bacteria) and viruses in diverse marine environmental settings by a variety of techniques, including modern genomic techniques.