The Department of Environmental Microbiology at the Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality, and Solid Waste Management (ISWA) at the University of Stuttgart has an open position for a PhD student. The project focuses on “Arsenic Mobilization by Anaerobic Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria in Groundwater Systems in Hanoi, Vietnam.”
Your Tasks
Geogenic arsenic (As) contamination is ubiquitous and poses a significant threat to the health of millions in many aquifers across Southeast Asia. Understanding the mechanisms controlling As mobilization into groundwater is crucial but often limited.
The Department of Environmental Microbiology seeks an environmental microbiologist to identify key players and pathways influencing the fate of As in groundwater systems in the Red River Delta, Hanoi, Vietnam. In this PhD project, you will investigate anaerobic Fe(III)-reducing methane-oxidizing microorganisms and analyze field samples from Vietnam. You will conduct a field sampling (drilling) campaign, followed by molecular biological and bioinformatic analyses. These analyses will help characterize microbial community composition, metagenomic potential, and gene expression patterns using techniques such as 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, metagenomics (including metagenome-assembled genomes; MAGs), metatranscriptomics, and statistical analysis. The German Research Foundation (DFG) funds this project.
Your Profile
The PhD position is within an interdisciplinary, international, and dynamic team of environmental microbiologists and microbial ecologists. The position offers opportunities for creativity and innovation in a challenging topic that combines various fields within environmental sciences. Ideal candidates should:
- Have a solid background in environmental microbiology and molecular ecology,
- Experience with anaerobic cultivation and molecular biological techniques is desirable,
- Be able to work independently and in a team,
- Possess excellent management and communication skills,
- Be highly motivated and committed to interdisciplinary research,
- Have very good computer and English language skills (English).
Application details
The starting date is November/December 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter. The University of Stuttgart will arrange employment (TV-L E 13, 75%, 3 years).
Applications should include CV, motivation letter, an overview of the methods used in the past, and contact information of academic references, and be submitted on the job portal. Application deadline: September 1st, 2024.
Contact Details: Prof. Dr. Sara Kleindienst, sara.kleindienst@iswa.uni-stuttgart.de