Evolution of chemosensory behaviours in Drosophilids

Research environment

Our lab and the Department of Biology offer a friendly and stimulating work environment, with excellent conditions in terms of infrastructure, know-how, and collaboration. Fribourg is vibrant medieval university town with a large student population (https://www.unifr.ch/studies/en/choose-fribourg/life-in-fribourg.html), situated close to the capital of Bern and the beautiful Swiss pre-Alps and Alps. For more information on our research see https://www.unifr.ch/bio/en/groups/auer/. For more information on the Department of Biology at Fribourg see: https://www.unifr.ch/bio/en/.

Training and development

Our PhD students will be part of the Fribourg Life Science Graduate School which provides training and development opportunities, and advice on funding for research.

Our students and PostDocs also have access to training and career advice from the University of Fribourg and can participate to online and on-site courses from the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

Through the development of your project, you will be trained in state-of-the-art comparative genetic approaches, molecular biology techniques, neurophysiology, and behavioural studies. You will also be able to develop your own project ideas depending on your interests.

Our lab strives to foster effective communication and presentation skills and you will be encouraged to develop international collaborations and networking, including attendance to national and/or international meetings.

Project description

The focus for this position will be on chemosensory system evolution and taste processing. We use three closely related Drosophila species (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, D. sechellia) with diverse feeding habits to decipher what genetic and neural circuit changes drive species differences. To this purpose, we compare homologous circuits across species and study their physiology, transcriptomes and role in behaviour. Due to the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, there is a range of opportunities for contributing to the project depending on particular interests and strengths (i.e. comparative transcriptomics, neurobiology, generation of transgenic tools for new species, in vivo volumetric imaging, bioinformatics). Throughout the project you will be encouraged to develop your own ideas and hypotheses.

Funding

The project is funded by Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grant. Initial appointment is for 1 year with the possibility to prolongations up to 4 years.

Eligibility and applying

Applications are invited from outstanding candidates with or expecting to receive a master degree in an area relevant to the project (e.g., evolutionary biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, neurobiology, bioinformatics). The most important qualification is motivation and enthusiasm for the project.

Informal inquiries about the project can be sent to Thomas Auer (Thomas.auer@unifr.ch).

Formal applications must be submitted through our online form (https://forms.gle/uKuCaodx8QdyMqwp9) for consideration, including a CV, cover letter and qualifications. Evaluation will be on a rolling basis until the positions are filled.

Our lab is committed to promoting diversity in science and we positively welcome applications from underrepresented groups.