These could be at either the MS or PhD level. One position could require field work in Antarctica and extensive diving experience would be beneficial although not required in that case. The Department of Biology Graduate Program has a primary emphasis in the comparative biochemistry, physiology, and ecophysiology of aquatic organisms. The University of Cologne offers a Ph. D. studentship funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in a Graduate Programme organized by the Departments of Genetics, Developmental Biology, Botany and Medical Biochemistry. All activities of the Graduate Programme will be held in English.
Additional funds are available for travel.
The position is available immediately in the Department of Botany. Glycoproteins and polysaccharides in scaly green algae form complexes of distinct size and shape termed scales. We have isolated several SAPs from the green alga Scherffelia dubia and obtained peptide sequences for several of them. The successful candidate will first characterise SAPs at the molecular level and a later stage investigate the function of SAPs using a combined biochemical, molecular and cellular approach. The project is part of a larger research programme focusing on the structure, function and evolution of the ECM in plants.