Postdoc in airborne environmental DNA at the Globe Institute

Postdoc in airborne environmental DNA at the Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences,
University of Copenhagen

Are you passionate about the diversity of life on Earth? Do you want to survey fauna from thin air? Are you keen to contribute to make eDNA data generation more cost-effective? If so, this position is for you. We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic postdoc for a 2-year position to develop a metabarcoding multiplexing approach to allow parallel surveys of terrestrial vertebrates and insects using airborne eDNA. The position will commence 1 March 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter).
Information about the department can be found at www.globe.ku.dk

Our research
The successful candidate will be part of the Environmental DNA Group at the Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen. The group is led by Associate Professor Kristine Bohmann, and currently consists of one assistant professor, three postdocs, one PhD student, two research assistants and three MSc students. Our mission is to assess biodiversity in both modern and ancient environmental samples. For this, we use environmental DNA, metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing. Our work includes technical studies, analyses of environmental DNA time-series and exploration of novel environmental DNA sample types - for instance airborne environmental DNA for terrestrial animal surveys. To ensure impact, we invest much effort in science communication and outreach.

Your job
You will work on the Independent Research Fund Denmark Sapere Aude grant awarded to Associate Professor Kristine Bohmann. To enable parallel, efficient and cost-effective data generation on terrestrial vertebrate and insect communities from samples of airborne eDNA, you will develop a multiplex metabarcoding approach. Firstly, you will investigate how well airborne eDNA reflects local insect communities by generating and analysing metabarcoding data from samples collected as part of the LifePlan project (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/projects/lifeplan) and contrasting the results to data on local insect occurrences. In addition, you will develop a multiplexing approach for vertebrates and insects. The work will include in silico analyses, designing multiplexing primer cocktails and testing on ‘mock samples’. This will be followed by application to airborne eDNA samples. Apart from laboratory and computational work, your tasks can include fieldwork and training of new group members.

The team includes both national and international collaborators who you can spar with on e.g. air modelling and airborne particles, airborne eDNA sampling, laboratory and computational processing, as well as  community and statistical analysis. Further, you can visit Professor Tomas Roslin’s lab in Sweden (working mainly on insect community ecology and DNA-based methods) or Professor Otso Ovaskainen’s lab in Finland (working on mathematical biology and advanced bioinformatics). In addition, you will have ample day-to-day support from the UCPH Environmental DNA Group that you will be part of, including Assistant Professor Christina Lynggaard, who is a collaborator on the project advising on airborne eDNA sampling, laboratory and computational processing.

Profile
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic scientist with the following competencies and experience:
Essential experience and skills:

• Enthusiasm for understanding global biodiversity using molecular tools
• A PhD in Biology or Molecular Biology
• Thorough experience in working with ancient and/or modern environmental DNA using eDNA metabarcoding - including both laboratory and computational analyses
• An active interest in technical explorations of environmental DNA analysis and in the development of new methodologies
• Experience in statistical analyses in the field of eDNA using R packages
• Experience with independent fieldwork
• Proficient communication skills and an ability to work in teams
• An excellent publication track-record, including first author peer-reviewed scientific articles
• Excellent English skills - written and spoken

Desirable experience and skills:

• Programming skills
• Knowledge and interest in ecology, biodiversity, insect/vertebrate taxonomy, or the like
• An interest in science communication and/or outreach
• The ability to design experiments, the determination to generate the data in the laboratory, a zeal for computational work, and a passion for summarising the work in manuscripts
• Ideally, we expect you to be resourceful and innovative, highly motivated, and enthusiastic – with great interpersonal skills and the capability to take ownership of your projects and work independently while having a collaborative mindset and the ability to work as part of a team.

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen. We offer creative and stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment. Our research facilities include state-of-the-art ancient and modern DNA laboratories, the associated National High-throughput DNA Sequencing Centre and computational servers. To carry out the projects, you will have access to our dedicated airborne eDNA lab and to the relevant laboratories, computational servers and other infrastructure of the wider Globe Institute.

Terms of employment
The average weekly working hours are 37 hours per week.

The position is a fixed-term position limited to a period of 2 years. The starting date is 1 March 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter).

Salary, pension and other conditions of employment are set in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministry of Taxation and AC (Danish Confederation of Professional Associations) or other relevant organisation. Currently, the monthly salary starts at 38,000 DKK/approx. 5,000 EUR (April 2024 level). Depending on qualifications, a supplement may be negotiated. The employer will pay an additional 17.1 % to your pension fund.

Foreign and Danish applicants may be eligible for tax reductions, if they hold a PhD degree and have not lived in Denmark the last 10 years.

The position is covered by the Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities 2020.

Questions
For further information please contact Kristine Bohmann, [email protected]; www.sund.ku.dk

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Application procedure
Your online application must be submitted in English by clicking ‘Apply now’ below. Furthermore, your application must include the following documents/attachments – all in PDF format:

1. Motivated letter of application (max. one page).
2. CV incl. education, work/research experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position.
3. A certified/signed copy of a) PhD certificate and b) Master of Science certificate. If the PhD is not completed, a written statement from the supervisor will do.
4. List of publications.

Deadline for applications: 12 December 2024, 23.59pm CET

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the hiring committee. All applicants are then immediately notified whether their application has been passed for assessment by an unbiased assessor. Once the assessment work has been completed each applicant has the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that relates to the applicant him/herself.

You can read about the recruitment process at http://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

The applicant will be assessed according to the Ministerial Order no. 242 of 13 March 2012 on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities.

Interviews are expected to be held between 20-24 January 2025.

The University of Copenhagen wishes to reflect the diversity of society and encourage all qualified candidates to apply regardless of personal background.