Research Positions in Marine Biotechnology/Biodiscovery

2 Senior Post Doctoral Research Fellows

Funding is available through the Beaufort Marine Research Award scheme for two senior positions in the Marine Biotechnology/Biodiscovery area.

One position will focus on studying “Mechanisms of Cell Signalling in Microorganisms relevant to Marine Environments” while the other position will focus on the use of “Metagenomic Strategies to Exploit Marine Microbial Biodiversity”.

These positions will be for 3 years initially, with the possibility of extension for a further 4 years. Successful candidates will be part of the Environmental Microbial Genomics research group at the Environmental Research Institute at UCC, while collaborating closely with members of the BIOMERIT Research Centre at the Department of Microbiology at UCC. Salaries will be commensurate with experience, and will be in the range of €55-60,000 per annum.

To Apply:

Candidates should apply by sending a CV and a covering letter indicating your research goals/interests, together with the names of three referees, to Dr Paul Bolger, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Road Cork, Ireland. Tel: +353-21-4901933; email, p.bolger@ucc.ie.

For Further Information:

Contact either: Prof. Alan Dobson, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork. Tel: +353-21-4901946, email a.dobson@ucc.ie or Prof. Fergal O’Gara, Microbiology Department, University College Cork. Tel: +353-21-4902646, email f.ogara@ucc.ie

Closing date for applications: Friday, May 30^th, 2008.

6 PhD positions

Funding is also available through both the Beaufort Marine Research Award scheme and through the Irish Higher Education Authority PRTLI- Cycle 4 for six PhD positions in the following areas:

1.  Identification of Marine-derived modulators of Microbe-Host interactomes. Supervisor: Prof. Fergal O’Gara UCC.

2.  Culture dependent approaches to identify Bioactive compounds from bacteria associated with the marine sponge Haliclona simulans. Supervisor: Prof. Alan Dobson UCC.

3.  Development and validation of high-throughput screens to identify novel inhibitors of pathogenic yeast, from marine sponge-associated microbes. Supervisor: Dr John Morrissey UCC.

4.  Exploiting the diverse microbial ecology of marine sponges. Supervisor: Prof. Alan Dobson UCC.

5.  Viral Metagenomics in marine environments.  Supervisors: Prof. Alan Dobson UCC and Prof. Mike Larkin QUB.

6.  Metagenomic approaches to study Phosphorous cycling in natural environments.  Supervisors: Prof. Fergal O’Gara UCC, Dr John Quinn QUB and Dr John McGrath QUB.

Projects 5 and 6 involve collaborative projects between Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) and University College Cork (UCC) and will involve conducting part of the PhD project in both locations.

Candidates for the PhD positions should have an Honours degree (2H1) in Microbiology or a related discipline. 

To Apply:

Please submit a CV, (not more than 3 pages) and a covering letter indicating your research goals/interests and the project in which you are interested; together with the names of two referees to Dr Paul Bolger, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Road Cork, Ireland. Tel: 00353-21-4901933; email, p.bolger@ucc.ie.

Closing date for applications: Friday, May 30^th, 2008.

UCC is an Equal Opportunities Employer.