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The position will be located in the AWI section “Polar Biological Oceanography”, working group “Marine Chronobiology”. The focus of the advertised position is on the investigation of internal clocks and the control of biological rhythms in marine invertebrates (copepod Calanus, bristle worm Platynereis). Specifically, molecular and genetic analyses shall be used to generate an initial functional understanding of the “clock genes” period and timeless. Copepods have a key role in pelagic food webs and they perform daily and seasonal vertical migrations. Platynereis worms use their internal clocks to synchronize their reproduction with the lunar cycle. Find out more and apply here

The position will be localized in the BICLOPS group, which investigates “Biological Clocks in Pelagic Systems”. Affiliated with the “Marine Chronobiology” working group, it is part of the AWI section “Polar Biological Oceanography”, which uses a wide spectrum of physiological and genetic analyses to understand biological processes in the open ocean.

The focus of the advertised position is on the mechanistic understanding of the circadian clock system in a North Atlantic key zooplankton species, the copepod Calanus finmarchicus. Like countless other pelagic organisms, the copepods perform diel vertical migrations that directly determine the environmental cycles they encounter. As environmental cycles synchronize clocks and clocks affect migration behavior, this creates a chicken-and-egg paradox. We want to find out how circadian clocks can function in such “self-made” pelagic environments. Find out more and apply here

Project: Molecular basis of winter adaptation in the invasive horticultural pest Spotted Wing Drosophila

Deadline: 03 January 2026

The invasive pest Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) threatens UK fruit crops and biodiversity due to its climate-driven expansion and winter survival. This interdisciplinary project combines pest ecology, micro-CT and microscopy-based phenotyping, functional genomics, and bioinformatics to uncover overwintering mechanisms and inform evidence-based, sustainable pest management, supporting biosecurity and food security.

For further details:

Application and project details here

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/molecular-basis-of-winter-adaptation-in-the-invasive-horticultural-pest-spotted-wing-drosophila/?p187857

Project: New synthetic antibodies for circadian research

Deadline: 27 November 2025

Did you know that camels and llamas have a unique type of antibody that can be a powerful tool for science? These are nanobodies, tiny, highly stable, single-domain antibodies. Because of their small size, they can be used to manipulate or study the inner workings of cells in ways traditional antibodies cannot.

Our laboratory is fascinated by the circadian clock, the complex internal timekeeper that controls how we interact with the world around us and our health. We believe that nanobodies can help us unlock its secrets.

This PhD project focuses on a new and exciting way to discover nanobodies without needing an animal. Instead of immunizing a llama, we will use a synthetic library of billions of potential nanobody candidates. Using a technique called phage display, we will screen this library to find nanobodies that bind to key…

Project: Identifying the neurogenetic network underlying visually-driven sleep

Deadline: 27 November 2025

Sleep is a behavioural quiescence widely observed in the animal kingdom. Evidence indicates that daily light and visual stimuli contribute to sleep pressure; our lab is interested in identifying the elusive molecular and neural basis of such vision-driven sleep. We have identified various genetic components in the light/vision-driven sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Circuit-based manipulation also indicates parallel neurogenetic pathways linking the visual system and the known sleep homeostatic centre in the fly brain. This PhD project, therefore, aims to combine the latest techniques in connectomics and Drosophila sleep to map out these neural pathways in the fly brain. The student will conduct this exciting project through the following three objectives.

For further details:

Project Enquiries to kc280@leicester.ac.uk

Lab details here

Deadline for applications: 13th August 2025 As part of the project "Assessing and controlling seizure-modulating fluctuations (ACORN)", we are excited to recruit a motivated individual with research experience in a relevant subject area to work with us on this exciting project at the CNNP Lab.

The aim of ACORN is to understand the role of biological rhythms (chronobiology) in epilepsy and develop time-adaptive therapies. This project is funded by UKRI and is a collaborative project that spans multiple continents.

You will contribute to the development of new chronobiological analytics on existing data, design experiments to collect novel chronobiological data, engage with a wide network of stakeholders, and explore new avenues for medical applications. For ongoing work and publications on this project, please see our website: www.cnnp-lab.com.

This is a 12-months position initially and is expected to be held full time and in person. As an UKRI-FLF funded role, the successful applicant…

A number of positions are open to applications until the 8th of August:

https://www.circadianmedicine.de/

These include:

• Postdoctoral Position – Circadian Neuroimmunology, Sleep and Alzheimer’s Disease (Project C02) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte (CCM)

• Postdoctoral Position – Bioinformatics / Genomics (Project S01) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte (CCM)

• Postdoctoral Position – Bioinformatics / Computational Biology (Project INF) at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum (CVK)
  

Braintime Lab, Taipei Medical University (Taiwan)

The Braintime Lab is seeking a postdoctoral researcher for a three-year project, renewable annually, at the intersection of developmental and systems neuroscience within a circadian framework. Our work explores how circadian systems regulate cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and the neural network of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, combining mouse imaging and physiology with computational modeling.

Applicants should hold (or expect to complete by the start date) a PhD in neuroscience, biology, or a related field, have experience with rodent experiments, and preferably a background in circadian biology. Prior expertise in computational methods is not required, but a willingness to learn computational approaches is strongly encouraged.