Jobs

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…