Postdoc position: Experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance in
spatially structured environments

Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

— Job description —

A fully funded postdoc position (three years when full-time
employed) is available in our group for an experimental evolutionary
biologist/microbiologist to work as part of an interdisciplinary project
studying how spatial environmental structure affects the evolution
of antibiotic resistance (supervised by prof. Arjan de Visser and
dr. Hilje Doekes; full project proposal available upon request). You will
construct bacterial strains with common beta-lactam resistance mechanisms
and use these in fitness assays and evolution experiments, to help
develop spatially explicit models of bacterial growth, competition and
evolution under beta-lactam pressure. Throughout the project, you will
collaborate closely with a PhD student who will develop these analytic
and computational models.

Your duties and responsibilities will include:
* Construct bacterial strains with common resistance mechanisms;
* Perform experiments with these strains to measure fitness and
estimate relevant parameters (e.g. kill rate, antibiotic
degradation rate);
* Perform and analyse evolution experiments with constructed strains;
* Engage in frequent model-experiment feedback;
* Communicate your results by delivering talks at (inter)national
conferences and prepare scientific publications;
* Participate in supervising BSc and MSc thesis students.

— Qualifications —

You are a highly motivated researcher with a PhD in molecular
evolutionary biology, microbial genetics, or a related field. You
have solid experience in microbiological and molecular genetics and
expertise in genome analyses and are familiar with evolutionary theory
and quantitative models. Further, you have good communication skills
to operate in a multidisciplinary team and interact closely with the
theoretical PhD student.

— Offer —

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment
(https://www.wur.nl/en/Jobs/Tailor-made-conditions-of-employment.htm).
Your salary will be between € 3.226 and € 5.090 gross per month for
a full-time working week of 38 hours, depending on work experience. A
contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed. Initially, we offer you a one-year
contract, which will then be extended to the full period if there is
mutual enthusiasm.

— More info —

If you have questions about this position, please contact Arjan de
Visser: arjan.devisser@wur.nl.

Applications are welcome until 27 May. For more info or to apply:
https://www.wur.nl/nl/vacature/postdoc-in-experimental-evolution-of-beta-lactam-resistance-in-structured-environments.htm

"Visser, Arjan de" <arjan.devisser@wur.nl>

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