Postdoctoral Research position in Arid Land Microbial Ecology
Project Description:
You will join an international research project within the BiodivERsA network aiming at deciphering the impact of climate change on soil microbial communities at the phylogenetic and functional levels along large natural gradients. Your main focus will be to study the microbial ecology of soil samples collected along a South African aridity gradient combining field- and laboratory-based measurements of microbial activity and diversity.
Desired skills and experience:
- PhD in (micro)biology or environmental sciences with a strong background in microbial ecology, bioinformatics and statistics.
- Fluency in English (oral and writing).
- Field work experience and a driving licence (the applicant will be expected to collect samples in remote parts of South Africa).
- Strong skill sets in molecular biology and DNA/cDNA sequencing technologies.
- Experience with analysis of large data sets and multivariate statistics using R and Python.
- Proven track record of scientific publications.
Position Location:
The Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics (CMEG), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. The CMEG is a 1 000m2 laboratory housing ~40 researchers and support staff that has a strong national and international positioning within the fields of Ecogenomics and Functional Metagenomics, with a strong emphasis of microbial diversity, function and adaptation.
Starting Date and Duration:
From May 1 st 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter – three years, renewable annually after performance review.
Please send your application – CV, covering letter and contact details of two referees – to Dr Jean-Baptiste Ramond at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
