Doctoral School of Microbiology and Environmental Science

Supervisor: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Dagmar Woebken

Duration of Contract: 4 years

Working hours: 30,00 hours/week

Job Description:

Project background: Microorganisms in drylands must endure long periods of drought, interrupted by unpredictable and very short periods of rain. Dormancy – a state of reduced metabolic activity – has long been regarded as a prerequisite for desert soil microorganisms to survive such drought periods. However, as dormancy cannot be sustained indefinitely, phases of resuscitation must also play an important role for long-term survival of desert soil microorganisms and thus for maintaining microbial diversity in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

This PhD position is embedded in the ERC project WinMicAct, in which we are investigating the capability of microbial communities in desert biological soil crusts to utilize different water sources (rain and others) for reactivation and their associated microbial activities. 

Your Tasks:

You will combine field work (at the Tabernas Desert in Spain and the Succulent Karoo in South Africa) with lab-based experiments to address fundamental questions about microbial survival and resuscitation, and thus about the limits of microbial life. This will be achieved by applying genome-resolved metatranscriptomics, stable isotope tracing combined with single-cell activity assays (e.g. a recently developed heavy water-NanoSIMS assay), and process measurements.

Your Profile: 
We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with an excitement and enthusiasm for soil microbiology and for learning new methodological skills required for the project. A successful applicant will have a MSc degree in microbiology or ecology with a focus on microbial ecology, or a related discipline. Practical experience in microbiology or molecular biology techniques is highly favored. Experience in techniques to investigate diverse microbial communities (e.g. 16S rRNA gene-amplicon sequencing), in assessing microbial activity (e.g. stable isotope tracing), or in genome/-omics analysis is advantageous, but not required. Bioinformatics skills such as working knowledge of R and scripting languages, as well as a solid knowledge of statistical data analysis would be of additional advantage but are not mandatory. Ability to work independently and on a team, as well as good communication skills in English (written and spoken) are essential.

What we offer:

The successful candidate will be embedded in the working group of Dagmar Woebken at CeMESS – an internationally leading centre in microbial ecology research. The Centre offers a diverse and stimulating work environment. The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the Doctoral School in Microbiology and Environmental Science, which offers interdisciplinary training at the interfaces of microbiology, ecology and environmental science. The candidate will be at the forefront of a highly topical research topic, intersecting soil microbial ecology, microbial physiology and bioinformatics. The candidate will combine field work, lab-based experiments and omics-data and will have access to diverse facilities for state-of-the-art analyses and unique instruments for single-cell activity assays.

Conditions of appointment: 

The PhD position is embedded in the ERC Advanced project WinMicAct. We are offering a PhD student position for up to 4-years according to the salary scheme of the University of Vienna. The position provides the opportunity for the candidate to be creative and innovative, and to work in a multidisciplinary project involving various cutting-edge methods. The University of Vienna is an inclusive employer and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. 

If you have any questions, please contact:  dagmar.woebken(at)univie.ac.at