Post-doctoral Researcher in Fungal Ecology

Post-doctoral Researcher in Fungal Ecology

SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Uppsala, Sweden

About the position

The project particularly aims to advance knowledge of the diversity, distribution and biology of a diverse group of conspicuous fruitbody-forming fungi – the waxcaps and allied, or the CHEGD fungi – that are indicators of semi-natural grasslands and of global conservation concern. In collaboration with citizen scientists, we will map the diversity of CHEGD fungi across grasslands of different management histories based on both mushroom inventories and DNA-barcodes in soils. We will also attempt to unravel the ecology of CHEGD fungi based on field experiments based on stable isotopes, genomics and potentially transcriptomics approaches. The project thus addresses basic scientific questions about the diversity and biology of CHEGD fungi, while still producing information directly useful for improved management and follow-up of a group of threatened fungi.

As a post-doc in the project, you will be expected to drive independent research, including developing and executing field experiments, laboratory analyses, data analyses and writing scientific papers in collaboration with the project group and external collaborators.

This project offers a unique opportunity to investigate fundamental questions in fungal ecology and advance your research career in a dynamic and international research environm.

Your profile

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with a PhD in fungal ecology, mycology, microbiology, biology, or a related field. The candidate is expected to have:

• Experience with laboratory or field experiments within microbial ecology, fungal biology or conservation;
• Experience with fungal community, genomic or transcriptomic analyses;
• Knowledge of multivariate analyses and statistical modelling;
• Excellent communication skills in written and spoken English.

We consider it a merit if the candidate has skills in programming languages (e.g. python, R), has experience in fieldwork and has a driving licence.

In the recruitment process we will place great emphasis on the candidate’s interest in fungal ecology and personal qualities, motivation, collaboration ability, accuracy and independence.

As postdoctoral appointments are career-developing positions for junior researchers, we are primarily looking for candidates with a doctoral degree that was awarded within the past three years.