澳大利亚墨尔本大学博士后职位---进化生物学

澳大利亚墨尔本大学博士后职位---进化生物学

Research Fellow in Evolutionary Biology

University of Melbourne

Description

The Research Fellow will be a member of the project team who will work on research that will provide new insight into how resistance evolves and is maintained in natural populations and may result in potential reduction in pesticide use with associated economic and biodiversity benefits.

This project aims to develop new approaches to mitigate resistance evolution by applying sexual selection theory to predict evolution of insecticide resistance in flies. A key assumption of current agriculture management strategies is that resistance carries fecundity or survival costs, but this is rarely demonstrated, especially in nature. Not all resistance mutations are novel; many represent pre-existing variants maintained by balancing selection, ie opposing effects in males and females, or by environmental fluctuations. This research will provide new insight into how resistance evolves and is maintained in natural populations and may result in potential reduction in pesticide use with associated economic and biodiversity benefits.

The School of BioSciences is located on the Parkville campus.

The project will involve:

  Primer design of putative resistance alleles across Drosophila species

  Determine the frequency of different resistance alleles in field caught D. melanogaster

  Quantification of tissue specific expression of orthologous resistance genes in male and female Drosophila

  Determine the impact of resistance allele expression on D. melanogaster metabolism

  Quantify the interaction between gut microbiota, endosymbionts, and resistance in D. melanogaster

  Undertake transgenic expression of orthologous resistance genes across Drosophila

  Use CRISPR/Cas9 to establish resistance gene knockouts in flies

About You

You will be a suitably qualified postdoc, with demonstrated experience in fly transgenic techniques, experience in insect husbandry, especially of Drosophila flies, and experience in bioinformatic analysis. You will be able to demonstrate an aptitude for independent research, and a track-record of sound publication in relevant areas, commensurate with experience and opportunities. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to work co-operatively and positively in a multi- disciplinary research-based team environment and liaise with people from diverse backgrounds

You will also have:

  Completion of a PhD in zoology, molecular or evolutionary biology or a related discipline

  A broad range of skills in molecular biology

  Demonstrated ability to prepare research reports and manuscripts for publication

  Strong evidence of ability and desire to build an academic research career trajectory

  Excellent interpersonal and both written and oral communication skills in English

  Demonstrated excellent organisational skills to meet deadlines and bring projects to a timely completion

  Demonstrated ability to develop, administer and see through to completion appropriately designed research projects with limited supervision

To ensure the University continues to provide a safe environment for everyone, this position requires the incumbent to hold a current and valid Working with Children Check.