Doctoral student in Biology in Microbial Ecology

Doctoral Student in Biology with a Specialisation in Microbial Ecology

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 46,000 students and 8,500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the human condition.

You will work within the Microbial Biogeochemistry in Lund (MBLU) environment, hosted at the department of Biology, at Lund University (Microbial Biogeochemistry in Lund), supervised by Professor Johannes Rousk and senior researcher Dr. Lettice Hicks. MBLU is a research environment that studies terrestrial ecosystems to better understand how soil microorganisms regulate global biogeochemistry which can be used to predict responses to environmental changes.

We are a group of microbial ecologists, ecosystem ecologists, biogeochemists, and modellers, who have a shared vision, and combine empirical and modelling approaches to accomplish this. Our research focuses on the study of soil carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems around the globe; from arctic tundra to tropical rainforests and semiarid grasslands. We are specifically interested in aspects influencing the spatial and temporal variability in microbial community function and structure, and their responses to stress, with special emphasis on environmental factors such as soil moisture, temperature, limiting nutrients, salinity and pH, and anthropogenic factors such as tillage, fertilization and metal contamination.

We study the microbial control and environmental dependence of ecosystem functions using field and laboratory experiments, and then incorporate validated ecological insights into models operating at different scales.

Being a doctoral student

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University.

As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors.

Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.

Subject and project description

We are looking for a doctoral student whose mission it will be to investigate whether and how soil microbial communities can adapt their traits to enhance their performance during drought and after drought ends. Specifically, the doctoral student will determine how microbial resilience and resistance to drought can arise, along with its ecological, physiological, and/or evolutionary underpinnings. This work will combine controlled laboratory experiments, greenhouse pot experiments, and field experiments to advance our understanding of how microbial ecology can drive ecosystem biogeochemistry.

It will be possible to include ongoing investigations where field experiments have been used to simulate ecosystem drought in arctic and terrestrial environments. Key performance metrics will include estimates of microbial growth occurring in intact soil samples, through the use of radio- and stable-isotope tracing methods, but also estimates of biogeochemical processes including C and nutrient cycling.

The project will provide an advanced education in soil microbial ecology and biogeochemistry, and will be laboratory-intensive with opportunities to conduct fieldwork. The project is suitable for candidates with a background and interest in soil microbial ecology, ecosystem ecology, and biogeochemistry.

Work duties

Your primary responsibility will be to pursue your doctoral education, which mainly consists of conducting independent research leading to a doctoral thesis.

During your PhD studies, you will develop expertise in determining microbial growth rates in intact soil samples using isotope tracing techniques (stable and radioisotopes) to quantify isotope incorporation into specific biomarkers. By measuring microbial growth across environmental gradients (e.g. soil moisture), you will investigate microbial functional trait distributions and describe these using mathematical functions that can be incorporated into ecosystem process models.

To address these research questions, you will have the opportunity to combine field experiments (e.g. rainfall exclusion treatments), greenhouse experiments, and laboratory microcosm studies. A substantial part of the project involves laboratory-based analytical work. You will analyse large biological datasets generated from these experimental systems using advanced analytical approaches and communicate your findings through publications in international peer-reviewed journals.

You are expected to actively participate in ongoing research projects within the research group while planning and conducting independent research on how…