Open positions

ZooCELL is recruiting 12 Doctoral Candidates (DCs). The doctoral candidates will be hired in one of the following institutions: the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (3), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli (1), Friedrich Schiller University Jena (1), Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (1), Institut de la Mer de Villefranche-sur-mer (1), Heidelberg University (1), Uppsala University (1), Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin (1), University College London (1) and University of Exeter (1)

Details of the offered positions

For detailed information on each position, including how to apply and the application deadline, please refer to each position description below. Please note that the application deadline varies for each position.
If you wish to apply to more than one position, please apply individually to each of them.

Requirements

· Candidates should possess a Master’s degree in a relevant academic field or a degree that allows them to embark on a PhD.
· Applicants must meet the English proficiency criteria.

Additional Information

Benefits

  • DC1 to DC10 positions are funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network Program. Doctoral candidates will be appointed as full-time for 3 years. The MSCA-DN programme offers excellent working conditions with competitive and attractive salaries. Each fellowship includes the following:

    – Monthly living allowance: monthly installments before taxation and compulsory deductions  of 3,400 euro; pondered by the EU correction coefficient (specific for the countries where the enrolling Institutions are located.

    – Monthly mobility allowance600 euro/month

    – Monthly family allowance, if applicable and depending on the family situation:  660 euro/month.

  • DC11 and DC12 positions will be hosted by the UK recruiting associated partners UCL and UNIEXE respectively. Funding for these positions will be provided by UKRI.

 

Eligibility criteria

Applicants must be doctoral candidates, i.e, not already possessing a doctoral degree at the date of recruitment.

Mobility rule: Eligible candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host institution for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment by the host institution (i.e. the starting date indicated in the employment contract/equivalent direct contract).
DC applicants must fulfil the local recruiting requirements. Employment will be conditioned to acceptance by the doctoral school of the associated PhD awarding institution.

Contact:

For any inquiries please contact zoocell@embl.de.

DC1:  “Large-scale automated segmentation of cells, including tools for unbiased analysis of cellular morphology”

DC1: “Large-scale automated segmentation of cells, including tools for unbiased analysis of cellular morphology”

Host: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), DE. PhD Awarding institution: Heidelberg University (UHEI), DE. Primary Supervisor: Dr. Anna Kreshuk. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: Morphological analysis of cells in tissues is contingent on ... read more

DC2: “The sea urchin larval anterior nervous system: sensing light and food availability to modulate growth and swimming behaviour”

DC2: “The sea urchin larval anterior nervous system: sensing light and food availability to modulate growth and swimming behaviour”

Host  institution: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), IT. PhD Awarding institution: Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSUJENA), DE.  Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Maria I. Arnone. Co- Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hejnol. Project duration: 36 months. Project ... read more

DC3: “The origin and evolution of gravitational sense organs in acoelomorphs and beyond”

DC3: “The origin and evolution of gravitational sense organs in acoelomorphs and beyond”

Host and PhD Awarding institution: Friedrich Schiller University Jena (FSUJENA), DE. Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Andreas Hejnol. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The research group, headed by Andreas Hejnol, studies the evolution of animal organ ... read more

DC4: “Neurosensory cell types in the hydrozoan planula larvae: seeking the transcriptional basis of morphological diversity”

DC4: “Neurosensory cell types in the hydrozoan planula larvae: seeking the transcriptional basis of morphological diversity”

Host  institution: Institut de la Mer de Villefranche (IMEV), FR PhD Awarding institution: Sorbonne University (SU), FR  Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Evelyn Houliston. Co- Supervisor: Dr. Richard Copley. Project duration: 36 months. Project Description: Sensory cells ... read more

DC5: “Mapping cell type diversity in the arthropod leg”

DC5: “Mapping cell type diversity in the arthropod leg”

Host  institution: Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon (IGFL)- CNRS, FR. PhD Awarding institution: École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENSL), FR.  Supervisors:  Dr. Michalis Averof and Dr. Mathilde Paris. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: ... read more

DC6: “Identification of conserved cellular functional modules in sensory neuron evolution”

DC6: “Identification of conserved cellular functional modules in sensory neuron evolution”

Host: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), DE PhD Awarding institution: Heidelberg University (UHEI), DE. Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Detlev Arendt Project duration: 36 months Project description: Our aim to elucidate the evolution of the bilaterian ... read more

DC7: “Application of a high-throughput array tomography vEM pipeline to study the diversity of marine larvae and sensory cell types”

DC7: “Application of a high-throughput array tomography vEM pipeline to study the diversity of marine larvae and sensory cell types”

Host institution and PhD Awarding institution: Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) - Heidelberg University, DE. Primary Supervisor:  Prof. Dr. Gaspar Jekely. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The project will offer in-depth training in the volume ... read more

DC8: “Comparative structure and evolution of the ecdysozoan head”

DC8: “Comparative structure and evolution of the ecdysozoan head”

Host  institution and PhD Awarding institution: Uppsala University (UU), SE Primary Supervisor:  Dr. Graham Budd Co- Supervisor: Dr. Ralf Janssen Project duration: 36 months Project description: The priapulid worms are a particularly interesting group as they are ... read more

DC9: “Orientation in lophophorates”

DC9: “Orientation in lophophorates”

Host  institution: Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MFN), DE PhD Awarding institution: Humboldt-University Berlin (HUBER), DE Primary Supervisor:  Prof. Dr. Carsten Lueter Project duration: 36 months Project description: The candidate will conduct an in-depth study ... read more

DC10: “From transcriptome to morphome: development of a correlative toolbox to perform vEM on targeted cell types”

DC10: “From transcriptome to morphome: development of a correlative toolbox to perform vEM on targeted cell types”

Host: European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), DE. PhD Awarding institution: Heidelberg University (UHEI), DE. Primary Supervisor: Dr.Yannick Schwab. Project duration: 36 months. Project description: The morphome quantitatively describes morphological ... read more

DC 11: “Homology of diverse lophotrochozoan larval types and the characterisation of apical organs”

DC 11: “Homology of diverse lophotrochozoan larval types and the characterisation of apical organs”

Host and PhD Awarding institution: University College London (UCL), UK Primary Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Max Telford Project duration: 36 months. Project description: Many marine animal species have indirect development via a larval stage - this is particularly ... read more

DC12: “Evolution of sensory systems for polychaete larval behaviour and development”

DC12: “Evolution of sensory systems for polychaete larval behaviour and development”

Host and PhD Awarding institution: University of Exeter (UNIEXE) Primary Supervisor: Dr. Elizabeth Williams Project duration: 36 months. Project description: This project will compare the head sensory systems (antennae, cirri, nuchal organ) of closely related ... read more