The Jones Lab at the University of Groningen invites applications for a
fully-funded 4 year PhD position in molecular, functional and population
genomics of vertebrate adaptation.

The position involves decoding how variation in genome function in natural
populations influences gene regulation, phenotype and
environmentally-dependent fitness. We aim to identify molecular mechanisms
in natural populations that provide evolutionary solutions to
environmentally-mediated disease.

We leverage the unique advantages of natural and laboratory studies of
adaptively diverging ecotypes of threespine stickleback fish - now a
classical model of evolution at the molecular and functional genetics
level. This project has the potential to combine diverse 'omic datasets
(e.g. ChIP-, ATAC-, RNA-, DNA- and single-cell multiomics); studies of
diverse wild-derived strains at different developmental stages and under
different environmental conditions in a state-of-the-art fish facility; and
natural population hybrid zones studies of divergently adapted ecotypes.

These project will build upon our research into the following areas, e.g.,
molecular basis of adaptation (Jones et al (2012) Nature, Verta and Jones
(2019) Elife), recombination variation (Venu et al 2024 Nature Ecology and
Evolution, Dreau et al 2019 Nature Communications), and evolutionary
processes that facilitate and constrain rates of adaptation in natural
populations (e.g. Kirch et al 2021 Current Biology; Schluter et al 2021
PNAS).

GELIFES at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands is a unique
institute dedicated to evolutionary biology. Its members' research spans
from ecosystems through organismal biology to neurobehaviour. Our group
members are embedded with the Evolutionary Genetics and Developmental
Biology (EGDB) expertise cluster, and enjoy close interactions with the lab
of Frank Chan.

Groningen is vibrant and lively; it is the youngest city in the
Netherlands. It ranks among the highest for living standards, happiness and
student satisfaction. All seminars and communications are in English.

To apply:  We seek a motivated candidate with experience in bioinformatics,
gene regulation and/or development whose interests span functional and
evolutionary genomics. Please e-mail a cover letter, CV, academic
transcripts with names and contact information of referees to Associate
Professor Felicity Jones (f.c.jones@rug.nl).

Felicity C Jones <f.c.jones@rug.nl>

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