Dear all,

We're looking for a PhD student to join our team at Lund University
(Sweden) to study how microbial eukaryotes -  'protists' - live
without oxygen. The position is set to start in the Autumn of 2024,
but is flexible per agreement.

Details about the position and how to apply (including
specific instructions for the cover letter) can be found here:
https://thelabupstairs.online/open-positions/.

THE PROJECT
Oxygen-depleted environments are more than just "anoxic dead zones"
- they are home to a diverse array of life, including eukaryotic
microbes. This PhD project aims to explore the mitochondrial biology in
anaerobic eukaryotes, shedding light on how their metabolism and organelle
function have evolved to thrive in oxygen-free environments. The focus
will be on the electron transport chain and other electron transferring
strategies like hydrogen generation. We will investigate the functional
diversity of anaerobic respiratory chains in eukaryotes and explore the
evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to this adaptations including
lateral gene transfer and neofunctionalization. Additional projects
related to environmental anaerobic eukaryotes are also available.

THE ORGANISMS
We study unicellular eukaryotes - or 'protists' - that often have
peculiar biology compared to what our textbooks teach us. This project
will centre on protists from the Breviatae and Amoebozoa phyla that have
taken different evolutionary trajectories towards anaerobic life. Instead
of depositing electrons onto oxygen, these protists can make hydrogen
gas or succinate which can be consumed by prokaryotic organisms in a
form of metabolic co-operation known as 'syntrophy'. Your task will
be to help us follow the electrons and understand the basic cell biology
of these protists.

RESEARCH METHODS
This project will use cell biological methods, including super-resolution
microscopy, proteomics, and metabolomics of quinone molecules. Moreover,
there is potential to develop expertise in bioinformatic methods such
as transcriptomics, comparative genomics, and phylogenetics as well as
environmental microbiology.

SUPERVISION
The successful candidate will join the Molecular Cell Biology Division
in the Biology Department at Lund University, under the supervision of
Dr. Courtney Stairs, an expert in eukaryotic microbiology. The project
will also be co-supervised by Dr. Olivier van Aken, a leading researcher
in mitochondrial biology. This project is part of the European Research
Council 'TANGO2' StG project, awarded to Dr. Stairs.

Best wishes,
Courtney

Courtney Stairs
Biträdande Universitets Lektor

Lund University
Department of Biology
www.thelabupstairs.online

Courtney Stairs <courtney.stairs@biol.lu.se>

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