PhD Scholarship : Molecular Ecology and Ecological Epigenetics in plants

Evolutionary adaptation is generally considered to be the result of natural selection on fenotypes and their associated genotype. Recently however, evidence is accumulating that epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation and chromatin modification, may play an important role in the short-term adaptation of plants to rapidly changing environmentats, such as are the consequence of climate change.

In a European wide project (EpiCOL), considering the role of epigenetic regulation mechanisms as an alternative means towards adaptation in plants, we work on delivering “proof of principle” for the ecological and evolutionary significance of epigenetic variation. The project is a cooperation between ecologists, evolutionary biologists and epigenomicists from France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.

The Dutch part of the EpiCOL project focuses on:
1) assessing naturally occurring epigenetic variation within populations of the plant species Scabiosa columbaria at a European scale
2) finding experimental support for induction of DNA methylation through environmental stress factors
3) delivering evidence that epigenetic markers (or parts thereof) are stably inherited
4) assessing the relationship between environmental stress, inbreeding level (as a consequence of habitat fragmentation) and epigenetic regulation.

This part will be a combination of field studies, greenhouse experiments and molecular analyses, more specifically MS-AFLP, qPCR and RNAseq studies. You will occasionally spend several weeks at the labs of the European EpiCOL partners.

The position will have to result in a Dutch PhD degree according to Dutch requirements.

Requirements
You have:
- a recently obtained MSc degree in a molecular ecological discipline;
- basic knowledge of population genetics;
- knowledge of, and are skilled in, molecular techniques, especially PCR and DNA and RNA extraction, and in setting up ecological greenhouse experiments;
- good writing skills.

Organization
The project will be carried out in the Molecular Ecology Group of the Institute for Water and Wetland Research of Radboud University Nijmegen. The group’s research lines include conservation genetics, ecological genomics of plants, and ecological epigenetics. The main theme is establishing the relationship between population size and isolation, on the one hand, and genetic variation, inbreeding level and increased probabilities of extinction, in association with habitat deterioration, on the other. Part of he research involves working with neutral genetic markers such as microsatellites and AFLPs. Another important line is directed towards population genomics and finding evidence for the impact of habitat fragmentation on functional genes and their activity. Scabiosa columbaria, which is an endangered species in the Netherlands, is used as a model throughout the research. A (partial) 454 based transcriptome sequence is available, and more than 10.000 SNPs, hundreds of EST-SSRs, and routine protocols for DNA methylation study are available for this species. Recently, an ecological epigenetics line has been started up, which aims to investigate in what way DNA methylation could be important for rapid adaptation to rapidly changing environmental conditions. A central theme in all lines is how inbreeding affects gene expression, and how inbreeding might disrupt epigenetic regulation mechanisms.
The institute is well equipped, has a very modern molecular lab, and greenhouse and growth facilities. The institute also has access to next generation sequencing facilities, more specifically 454 and Illumina sequencers.
Website: http://www.ru.nl/molecularecology

Conditions of employment
Employment: 1,0 fte
Maximum salary per month, based on a fulltime employment: € 2,612 gross/month
The starting salary is €2,042 per month and will increase to €2,612 per month in the fourth year.
PhD scale.
Duration of the contract: 4 years.

Additional conditions of employment
You will be appointed as a PhD student for four years. Your performance will be evaluated after 18 months. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years.

Additional Information
Dr. Joop Ouborg
Telephone: +31 24 3652470
E-mail: j.ouborg@science.ru.nl

Application
You can apply for the job (mention the vacancy number 62.15.10) before 8 November 2010 by sending your application -preferably by email- to:
RU Nijmegen, FNWI, P&O, mr. M. Frieling
P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, NL
Telephone: +31 24 3652294
E-mail: pz@science.ru.nl

Asian Youth Fellowship (AYF)

Asian Youth Fellowship (AYF) Program aims to nurture human networking among ASEAN countries, Bangladesh and Japan. The AYF preparatory course before entering Japanese Graduate School as Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship student is offered by The Japan Foundation. AYF program is open to university graduates in the region who wish to contribute to regional cooperation after obtaining a Master and/or Ph. D. Degree in Japanese Graduate Schools as follows:

Features of the Asian Youth Fellowship Program

AYF consists of the following component:

• Coordination of a host professor and research plan development during the preparatory course in Japan
• Preparatory course (Japanese Language and cultural activities)
• Follow ups after completing the preparatory course

The scholarship grantees shall receive a preparatory course in the Japanese language for approximately 7 months, at The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai, Japan. The preparatory course is developed for people who have never learned Japanese language before. Grantees are provided with dormitory. Accompanying family is NOT allowed during the preparatory course.

After completing the preparatory course, grantees will be proceeding to Japanese graduate schools as Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship students (principally Research Student) .

Field of Study

• Any of the fields in Humanities, Social Sciences, Engineering and Natural Science is acceptable..
• Students pursuing study areas that would contribute to his/her country or region will be given preference.
• * Technical training course is excluded.

Qualifications

1. Nationality: Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam.
2. Age: under 35 years of age as of April 1, 2010 (i.e. born on or after April 2, 1975)
3. Academic Backgrounds: university or college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree (those who will graduate from a university or college by the Registration Day of AYF may apply, but the grants may be CANCELLED if grantees fail to arrive in Kansai on the starting day of the preparatory course.)
4. Other requirements:
   a. Good proficiency in English is required.
   b. Military men and military civilian employees registered on the personnel list are excluded.
   c. Applicants should be in good health.
   d. The applicant whose spouse has already won a Japanese Government scholarship will not be selected as a grantee, and likewise in the case of a couple applying at the same time.
   e. The applicant who has been awarded a Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship in the past will not be selected as a grantee unless he/she has had a few years' research or teaching experience after returning to his/her country.

Grant Coverage during the Preparatory Course

1. Expenses necessary for participation in the official curriculum (transportation, teaching material, etc.)
2. Meals during the program (partly in the form of cash allowances) and a set amount of allowances to cover miscellaneous living expenses.
3. Accommodation (a single room) at the Institute
4. Overseas travel insurance for disease and injury for the duration of the program
5. Round-trip, economy-class airline between the nearest international airport from the residence and Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan) on the most direct and economical route.
6. Japanese visa as a trainee

*The above terms of the grant will be effective for the period of the preparatory course. After completing the AYF Program, grantees will proceed to Japanese universities as the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship students. Allowances, accommodations, and other status are subject to Monbukagakusho’s regulations.

Selection

1. Japanese diplomatic missions concerned, in cooperation with the foreign governments concerned, will select preliminary candidates from among applicants by means of a review of the documents submitted.
2. Those who have been selected as the preliminary candidates will be recommended to Asian Youth Fellowship Committee, Tokyo, Japan. The Committee will select grantees from among the preliminary candidates by means of an interview made in their respective countries by a mission member assigned and dispatched by the Committee.
3. Final announcement in writing will be provided by the Embassy of Japan after the AYF Committee. The grantees of the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) scholarship will be finally selected, on condition that they have completed the AYF preparatory course successfully, after the university placement has been made.

Application Procedure

Applicants must submit the following documents according to the instruction given by the Embassy of Japan in their own country by the date appointed. The documents submitted will not be returned.

Cambodia: Embassy of JapanAmbassade du Japon, No.194 Norodom Road,P.O. Box 21, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tel: 855-23-217161Fax: 855-23-216162

Asia Science and Education for Economic Development Institute (Asia SEED)Shanghai Building 6F, 1-24-12 Shinkawa, Chuo-kuTokyo 104-0033, JapanTel: 81-3-5566-0072 Fax: 81-3-3552-7986E-Mail : ayf@asiaseed.org

Moreinfo: http://www.asiaseed.org/ayfj/