PhD position Behavioral neurobiology of ants We are recruiting a motivated and talented student interested in understanding the evolution and organization of the olfactory system in ants (and other insects). The student will join an interdisciplinary team composed by Carlotta Martelli (neurobiology and computational biology),Susanne Foitzik (behavior and evolution) and Hugo Darras (evolution and genomics), two PhD students and one postdoc. The project aims to unravel the organizational logic of the olfactory system in Temnothorax ants, from genes to neurons to behavior. The long-term goal is to identify evolutionary signatures of non-canonical organizations of the olfactory system and to understand the computational consequences of different architectures for odor coding and behavior. This innovative, interdisciplinary project combines neurobiological and behavioral experiments, molecular genetic analysis, genomics, transcriptomics, and theory. This call is intended to fill a PhD position that will focus on the analysis of behavior, with the goal to link molecular and anatomical features of the olfactory system to the behavior of individual ants within a colony. The project will be co-supervised by S. Foitzik and C. Martelli, in collaboration with H. Darras. The PhD student should have a strong interest in behavior and neurobiology, ideally with experience in quantitative behavioral analysis. Training in evolutionary biology, neuroanatomy and experience in handling insects would also be an advantage but are not a prerequisite. Funding for this position is secured over 3 years, with potential of extension. The PhD student will have the opportunity to be integrated into the GenEvo graduate program (https://www.genevo-rtg.de/), which offers a close-knit community of graduate students and provides training in molecular and evolutionary biology, as well as methodological courses such as on bioinformatics. To apply, please send a letter of motivation, CV and contact information of two referees to cmartell@uni-mainz.de and foitzik@uni-mainz.de DEADLINE: 27.03.2024 For additional information, please contact us! Carlotta Martelli cmartell@uni-mainz.de, https://mrtlllab.uni-mainz.de/ Susanne Foitzik foitzik@uni-mainz.de, Group Foitzik | Behavioural Ecology and Social Evolution Hugo Darras hdarras@uni-mainz.de, Group Darras | Behavioural Ecology and Social Evolution iDN and iomE, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany Prof. Dr. Susanne Foitzik Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Biozentrum Hanns Dieter H??sch Weg 15 D-55128 Mainz Germany Tel: +49 (0) 6131 39 27 840 Fax: +49 (0)6131 39 27 850 Email: foitzik@uni-mainz.de "Foitzik, Susanne" (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to golding@mcmaster.ca)