Application deadline: 29th February 2024 [extended till 13th of March] (the candidate will be selected in March)

Start date: 1st October 2024

Duration: 4 years

Location: Department of Zoology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic, EU

Research group: http://www.fishevo.com/

We are searching for a motivated candidate with interest in molecular and evolutionary genomic approaches to reveal the secrets of how fish see in the deep sea. The project focuses on evolution of the visual sensory system in fishes and count with application of transcriptomics (including the single-cell transcriptomics) of the retina. The successful candidate will join the Fish Evolution research group of Zuzana Musilova at Charles University in Prague and will study eyes of species with extreme adaptations, some of them with unknown mechanisms.

We offer:

– an international research group with the ERC funding located in an inspiring historical city

– a competitive salary sufficient to live in Prague

– possibility to participate at international conferences, collaborations and in the field

– wide selection of courses at the Faculty of Science

We seek:

– a candidate with motivation and enthusiasm for biology, nature and science, and with ability and willingness to learn new approaches

– fluency in English

– a M.Sc. degree in biology or related fields (or to be finished by September 2024)

– experience with molecular genetics, other laboratory techniques, as well as with some (basic) bioinformatics will be considered as beneficial

The project:

Deep-sea fish have evolved extreme adaptations to their environment. Such as in their eyes with cone and rod cells responsible for photoreception. In several deep-sea fish lineages, a novel visual system with unknown mechanism has been discovered (https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aav4632). Some species use multiple rhodopsins or have uncertain identity of the cones and rods, something very unusual for vertebrates. The main goal of this project funded by the ERC Consolidator grant is to study these adaptations mainly from a single-cell level perspective. While the focus is mainly on molecular evolution, we generally aim to interpret cool stories out of our findings mainly in the context of the evolution, fishes and their life. The candidate is expected to present about his/her project at international conferences and will be authoring research publications. All nations applicable.

All questions and applications (CV + half-page motivation letter + contact details for two persons who can be asked for a reference) should be sent directly to Zuzana Musilova (zuzmus[AT]gmail.com or zuzana.musilova[AT]natur.cuni.cz)

THANK YOU FOR YOUR APPLICATION:-)

PS: we will also look for a postdoc in another post:-)