The Institute of Evolutionary Biology seeks a PhD student

The Institute of Evolutionary Biology seeks a PhD student

 Application deadline: 30th of September 2025. 

More information:  

The Evolutionary Microbiology Lab's goal is to study the molecular mechanisms that facilitate adaptation to changing environments, as well as the limits of adaptation, using a combination of computational approaches, experimental evolution (of bacteria and single proteins) and omics (sequencing, transcriptomics). The group is part of the Biodiversity Program at IBE.

We are a small, but collaborative and dynamic group. The candidate will benefit from a vibrant and interdisciplinary academic environment with excellent opportunities for education, training and collaboration.

Project description: Environments change constantly, but bacteria can rapidly adapt to stressful conditions. How can bacteria adapt so quickly? While most research on bacterial adaptation centers on well-established
model organisms, in our lab we investigate the mechanisms of adaptation in understudied bacterial species.

The candidate will use experimental evolution to investigate how bacteria with multipartite genomes adapt to nutrient limitation under both constant and fluctuating environmental conditions. The evolution experiments will be coupled with whole-genome sequencing to identify
the genetic changes underlying adaptation. Particular emphasis will be placed on studying the role of copy number variations in driving adaptation to nutrient scarcity.
 

Application process: Interested candidates should e-mail Macarena Toll Riera ([email protected]) with the subject line “PhD student position” and a motivation letter describing their interest in the project,
their CV and contact information of two potential references.