Category Archives: Uncategorized

• Abstract submission and registration deadline extended until Friday June 4th
• Abstract submissions are invited for 10 min talks and for posters.
• Symposium will take place 6-7 July 2021: talks, 12:30-16:30 CEST; posters, evening of 6th July

As individuals reach older ages their bodies deteriorate – a process known as senescence. Individuals within the same species can differ greatly in the age they start to senesce, and the rate at which they senesce. However, why individuals senesce so differently remains unresolved and is one of the biggest unanswered questions in evolutionary biology. Understanding the drivers of senescence has important ramifications for veterinary medicine, conservation, health and society, as it could help individuals to live longer, healthier lives. This symposium will seek to address this knowledge gap by bringing together researchers with expertise in senescence from theoretical, laboratory and field settings. In particular it will focus on how our understanding of health and the evolution of senescence has been altered with the development of indicators and biomarkers of senescence such as epigenetic clocks and telomeres. These biomarkers have shed light on the relative impact of social, environmental, genetic and trans-generational effects on senescence. A synthesis of advances in the evolutionary theory of senescence, the occurrence and life-history consequences of senescence, and the underlying genetic and non-genetic mechanisms driving variation in individual senescence will significantly further the field. This knowledge is vital to understanding why senescence has evolved and how variance is maintained.

Invited speakers:

• Emma Teeling, University College Dublin
• Katharina Gapp, ETH Zurich
• Jenny Tung, Duke University

Organisers: 

• Hannah Dugdale, University of Groningen
• Julia Schroeder, Imperial College London
• Alex Sparks, University of Leeds

Abstract submission: through the ESEB website https://www.eseb2021.cz/en/satellite-symposia-2021
Registration: free of charge, through the ESEB website https://www.eseb2021.cz/en/satellite-symposia-2021

Postdoc position with Vitor Sousa in Lisbon to work on methods to detect regions of the genome involved in hybrid incompatibilities, jointly inferring demographic history.

More info can be found here: https://bit.ly/OpenCall-EG-cE3c-Dec2020

This is part of a collaborative HFSP grant, and there is simultaneous postdoc opportunity in Claudia Bank’s lab at University of Bern (https://banklab.github.io/positions/).

“Research Scientist – (3 years Fixed Term)

Location: Royal Zoological Society of Scotland – Edinburgh Zoo

About Us

The charity that owns both RZSS Edinburgh Zoo and RZSS Highland Wildlife Park are looking for committed, compassionate and conservation-minded individuals to join our expert staff team. RZSS aims to connect people with nature and safeguard species from extinction, a mission that sees us work both here in Scotland and in over 20 countries around the world. From inspiring the next generation about wildlife in our parks to protecting chimpanzees in the Ugandan rainforest; looking after some of the world’s most endangered species to saving the Scottish wildcat, RZSS is making a huge difference and we need your help to continue to grow.

The role

An opportunity has arisen for a committed Research Scientist (Conservation Genetics) to join the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s WildGenes lab. Reporting to the Conservation Programme Manager (WildGenes), the Research Scientist will assist with the analysis of applied conservation genetic research data delivered by the RZSS WildGenes laboratory.

Who we are looking for

The successful candidate will have a PhD in a relevant genetics discipline such as Conservation Genetics or Population Genetics/Genomics and a desire to work as part of our team to support conservation projects around the globe.

Interested?

For full information on how to apply, please visit the RZSS vacancy page and follow the instructions: http://www.rzss.org.uk/job-vacancies/

Closing date: Monday 18th January 2021.

Invitation to interview will be by email/phone and interviews will take place during the 2nd week of February.

For any questions and queries, please email Dr Alex Ball at aball@rzss.org.uk quoting “Research Scientist” as the subject.

Our mission is to connect people with nature and safeguard species from extinction.

The RZSS strives to be an equal opportunities employer. Registered Charity SC00406”

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes and hopefully a much happier 2021!

Alex

Alex Ball

WildGenes Programme Manager
0131 314 0388 aball@rzss.org.uk

Postdoctoral Researcher — (2 years fixed term)

A position as a postdoctoral researcher in population genomics is available at the Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary biology program, at the Uppsala University, Sweden, in the group of Assist. Prof. Elina Immonen (https://immonenelina.wordpress.com).

The Department of Ecology and Genetics is an international environment with staff and students from all over the world. Our research spans from evolutionary ecology and genetics to studies of ecosystems. For more information, see www.ieg.uu.se.
Project description: The aim of the project is to experimentally examine how sexually antagonistic and sex-limited selection affect the genetic architecture of a polygenic trait during the evolution of sexual dimorphism. The postdoc fellow will utilize available replicated artificial selection lines in a seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus to test for gene expression and allele frequency changes associated with an increase or decrease in sexual size dimorphism.

Duties: Prepare DNA extractions for sequencing from available material, bioinformatic analysis of DNA and RNA-seq data. Analysis and writing of manuscripts based on the goals of the project.

Qualifications required: For this position the candidate must hold a PhD degree in evolutionary biology, genetics/genomics or bioinformatics, obtained no more than three years prior to the application deadline (extendable due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.). Experience in analyses of next-generation sequencing data is necessary, as is a background in population genetics/genomics.

Application deadline 15 January 2021.

See further information about the position and how to apply here: https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/details/?positionId=370632

Contact: Elina Immonen, elina.immonen@ebc.uu.se

We have opened a 3-year position as:
Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genetics of the tawny owl in Turku, Finland

Details and applications (until 10.10.2020) via the URL
https://rekry.saima.fi/certiahome/open_job_view.html?id=00009733&did=5600&lang=en&jc=14&nav_from_open_jobs_view_new=true

Please forward to potential candidates.

all the best
-Jon

Jon E. Brommer, Ph.D.
Professor in Ecology
Department of Biology
University of Turku
FI-20014 TURKU
Finland
Lab URL: https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Brommer-Lab-Jon-E-Brommer

We assemble reference genomes de novo and perform comparative genomic analyses to investigate the origin, evolution, and loss of the heterostyly supergene (S-­locus) in Primulaceae (and related questions). The successful candidate will possess the following skills: ability to frame questions clearly, test hypotheses, set goals; write, submit, and publish scientific manuscripts; knowledge of genome-­assembly methods, comparative genomics, bioinformatics, phylogenomics and population genomics; ability to work both collaboratively and independently; knowledge of plant breeding systems desirable.

STARTING DATE: May 1 or June 1, 2020 (some flexibility possible). The position is available for 2 (to 3) years; opportunities to seek additional funding are available. The selected candidate will also have the opportunity to gain valuable teaching experience.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

• Send SINGLE PDF FILE titled Primulapostdoc2020_familyname to: ContiElena@access.uzh.ch

• The application consists of: 1) cv; 2) publication record; 3) Copy of Ph.D. diploma and courses taken, with grades; 4) letter of motivation explaining your interest in & qualifications for the topic (2 pages max.); 5) names, affiliations, email addresses and phone numbers of 3 referees.

• Applications review will start February 1, 2020, and continue until suitable candidates are identified.

The Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany and the University of Zurich provide state-­of-­ the-­art infrastructure, excellent scientific milieu, and an international, English-­speaking work environment. With a world-­class airport located in the center of Europe, Zurich offers unmatched opportunities for easy travel to conferences and workshops anywhere in the world. Proximity to the Alps offers easy access to multiple outdoor activities and the species-­rich Alpine flora.

NorthernBUG 6 (the Northern Bioinformatics User Group) will be held at the University of Leeds on Friday 24th January 2020. Registration is now open, so please sign up and join in. 

More info here: https://northernbug.github.io/northernbug6

The University of Sheffield Chemistry Department has taken the decision to make a large proportion of the Department’s technical support staff redundant, or significantly reduced their hours. The staff affected include our analytical services technicians such as our Mass Spectrometry and IR technicians, as well as two workshop staff, our resident glassblower, the Grubbs solvents manager, and our head and deputy safety officers.

I am sure you’ll agree these staff are vital to the functioning of the Chemistry Department. The 3rd year Skills for Success Programme could not operate without them, nor could the analytical training workshop. They make our labs safe, and have student welfare at the forefront of their minds. And while you might not know it, the majority of our glassware is made within the Department. They are key to supporting not just students’ undergraduate studies, but also the world-renowed research carried out in our labs. One of the key selling-points of our Department is the quality of the analytical services, but without the amazing staff who run it, that service is non-existent.

These support staff have worked at the University for years, and shown their loyalty and dedication to the Department. For some of them, the University of Sheffield has been their only place of work.

Please sign this petition to show your support for our staff, and show the Department that investing in their support staff means investing in their students. Save Our Support Staff

http://chng.it/GbNM2BvfTS

brought to Porters (Alfred Denny)

The next northernBUG meeting in Hull on Sept 9th. It would be great to have more evolutionary biology bioinformaticians there from Sheffield! The meeting is free but you should register.
All the sign up details are linked on the conference page:https://northernbug.github.io/northernbug5