PHD Position NIOZ 11-05-2024

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PhD position: "Plastisphere and Marine Biodegradation in the ViBRANT SEA-project"

On-site

• 't Horntje, Texel , Noord-Holland , Netherlands

Marine Microbiology & Biogeochemistry (MMB)

Job details Apply

Job description

Validating Biodegradation Rates and Reactions Applying Novel Technologies and Systems Ecology Approaches (ViBRANT-SEA) is an Advanced European Research Council (ERC) supported project that is recruiting a PhD Candidate (1.0 FTE). This position is vacant within our Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry (MMB) of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) in collaboration with the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) Department at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The successful candidate will be enrolled as an UvA student but work at NIOZ's Texel campus.

THE DEPARTMENT

The Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry (MMB) is located on Texel. The MMB Department studies microbial communities in all types of marine environments, from estuaries to the deep ocean, from the deep past to the present. Using field and expermental approaches and a variety of analytical, (bio)chemical and genomic techniques, we study the diversity, evolution, physiology and activity of eukaryotes, bacteria, archaea, and viruses in diverse marine environmental settings. We do so by a variety of analytical chemical, biochemical and modern genomic techniques. The MMB Department is well-equipped with laboratories for molecular analyses and state-of-the-art bioinformatics facilities. The MMB technical and scientific staff is international, diverse, and has approximately 80 members, including PhD students, postdocs, and Master students from more than 15 different countries. A group of sixteen staff scientists and fifteen research assistants (junior and senior) form its support core.

THE ViBRANT-SEA PROJECT

Plastic Marine Debris (PMD) is now considered a planetary boundary threat and the "Plastic Cycle" a biogeochemical cycle. The impacts of single-use plastic litter in marine environments have prompted a search for greener alternatives such as the biodegradable/ compostable plastics polyhydroxyalkanoates and polylactic acid already being used for consumer goods. The diversity of microbes, their enzymes, and their role in influencing the rates of plastic biodegradation in nature remains poorly characterized - particularly in cold or low-oxygen marine waters and seafloor, where most PMD accumulates. The impact of lag duration, pH, hydrostatic pressure, and potential priority effects of initial microbial colonizers remain vital but unaddressed concerns. In addition, the impact of plastic, its breakdown products, and additives on marine organisms and ecosystems is largely unquantified. Two urgent questions are how long does plastic last in the marine environment and what are the impacts on ecosystems. This technology-enabled project aims to quantify biodegradation rates of biodegradable plastics and plastic-associated additives in the field and under controlled laboratory conditions, and to develop a fish model system for toxicity tests to fill these knowledge gaps.

This project will generate novel microbial metagenomes from global plastic samples collected during cruises and from biodegradation experiments to create a comprehensive list of genes and enzymes linked to biodegradation of biodegradable plastic in marine environments. It will be the first to combine in situ respirometry, stable isotope probing, and advanced imaging techniques to measure biodegradable plastic biodegradation rates,

while visualizing microbe-microbe interactions on the plastic surface, revealing cellular mechanisms occurring during active biodegradation.

Finally, it will develop the first marine fish organoid model for consistent and efficient testing of toxicity due to plastics and additives.

Job requirements

THE CANDIDATE

We seek a highly motivated candidate with the ambition to become a scientist as a team member with a background in cell culturing, molecular biology, microscopy, FISH, and image analysis experience. In this Ph-trajectoryD you will be jointly supervised by Prof. dr. L.A. Amaral-Zettler (NIOZ/UvA) and Dr. A. Praetorius (UvA). The ideal candidate will have a master's degree in biology, microbiology, molecular biology, biogeochemistry, environmental chemistry, chemical/biological engineering or a related field. The candidate must be willing and able to take part in field work in coastal areas and on our open-ocean research vessel. The international character of the institute and department require that the candidate possesses excellent English oral and written communication skills. The key responsibilities for this position are;

• Perform marine biodegradation laboratory test methods
• Help deploy and recover ISRAs (In Situ Respirometry Apparatuses)
• Generate amplicon and metagenomic libraries from lab and field experiments
• Assist with minION sequencing
• Perform DNA and RNA-Stable Isotope Probing on marine biodegradation communities
• Perform diverse imaging protocols such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), CLASI-FISH (combinatorial labelling and spectral imaging), single-molecule FISH, as well as CLEM (Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy) and NanoSIMS

WHAT WE EXPECT

• A positive attitude, open mind, and willingness to learn and take on new challenges
• A highly organized, strong work ethic, excellent documentation skills, and attention to detail
• Experience with sterile technique, cell culturing including media preparation, and molecular biological techniques
• Documented microscopy skills and eagerness to learn advanced imaging methods
• Ability to perform field work and join a research expedition
• Flexibility in adapting to the needs of the project and other team members
• Efficiency and accuracy working independently and as part of the ViBRANT-SEA team

WHAT WE OFFER

• A supervised Ph-trajectoryD of 4 years, in which we support you to become a full blown scientist
• Opportunities to take courses to enhance skills needed for the PhD program
• Interactions with researchers with backgrounds from a broad range of environmental microbiological topics
• Excellent access to state-of-the-art molecular biology, culturing and microscope facilities
• Support from an enthusiastic research team composed of your advisors, 2 other ViBRANT-SEA PhD candidates, a full-time data analyst, and a lab manager
• Opportunities to assist in teaching undergraduates and mentoring master students

CONDITIONS

• A temporary contract for 40 hours a week for the duration of 4 years at Royal NIOZ is by NWO-I . The initial contract will be for a period of 1 year and after satisfactory Go-No Go -evaluation in the 9 th month, it will be extended for the total duration of 4 years. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and scientific meetings.
• Salary compliant with CAO-WVOI (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes)
• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week.
• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%.
• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits.
• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

Vacature eisen

onbekend

 

Functietitel	Researcher
Indicatie salaris (min – max]	onbekend – onbekend
Opleidingsniveau	WO
Aantal uren (min – max)	40 – 40
Contactgegevens	onbekend , onbekend onbekend
Type contract	Tijdelijk
Branche	Horeca
Locatie	Den Burg, Noord-Holland,Nederland
Soliciteer direct	https://workingat.nioz.nl/l/nl/o/phd-position-plastisphere-and-marine-biodegradation-in-the-vibrant-sea-project

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