Postdoctoral Fellow: Arctic Microbiology

Enrich and possibly cultivate the ice associated Arctic terrestrial microbial community to understand their energy and carbon source.

METHANICE, an international project affiliated with the iC3 Polar Research Hub, is looking for a new colleague to join its team in Tromsø, the capital of Arctic Norway. This is a three-year fixed term postdoctoral position.

This job vacancy requires:

• A doctoral degree in microbiology from a Norwegian university or an equivalent foreign doctoral degree. (If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline.)
• Documented experience in environmental microorganisms cultivation in anaerobic conditions
• Experience of working in clean laboratories and using anaerobic bench
• Ability and willingness to work under extreme/harsh (polar) climatic conditions in different seasons
• Bioinformatic or informatic documented skills
• Fluency in English

The project “Methanotrophic communities in ice” (METHANICE) aims to identify the role of sulfur oxidizing microorganisms associated with terrestrial seasonal ice.

This ice forms on top of sub-permafrost groundwater springs during winter, trapping hydrogen sulfide, methane and carbon dioxide bellow a thick ice layer surrounding massive, pressurized aquifers that are oversaturated with these greenhouse gases. While the aquifers are full of microorganisms, a large proportion of these organisms use sulfur as electron donor, their ecology is overlooked during winter.

The candidate’s objective is to enrich and possibly cultivate the ice associated microbial community to understand their energy and carbon source. The appointed candidate will get access to the new Polar MAGIC laboratory.

You must submit a project proposal that describes how you scientifically can contribute to described field of research. The proposal must include a progress plan.

Please do NOT contact iC3 about this opportunity, as the recruitment process is being managed by our university, not by the iC3 team. More information on how to apply here:

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/266228/postdoctoral-fellow-in-arctic-terrestrial-microbiology