We are looking for candidates that want to apply for an FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) doctoral fellowship to join us at the Centre for Functional Ecology (http://ecology.uc.pt) of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra (Portugal).

The successful candidate will be expected to develop his/her research within the framework of the CENECOGEN project (a collaboration between Ludo Muller at the Department of Botany of the Free University of Berlin and Susana Gonçalves at the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra), which will apply next-generation sequencing technology to study the genetic basis of the local adaptation to serpentine soil of the ectomycorrhizal ascomycete Cenococcum geophilum.

Candidates should have a background in biology, with a good knowledge of evolutionary genetics and ecology, and an interest in fungal biology. Experience with basic molecular biology techniques and computer literacy is highly desirable. The doctoral fellowship is open for all nationalities, starts at 980 euros per month (tax-free) and is renewable for up to four years. A call for fellowship applications will open in May 2010, with deadlines for submission in June and September. Earliest starting date will be October 1st, 2010.

Interested candidates should send a covering letter describing their research interests, a CV and the contact information for three professional referees to Ludo Muller (ludo.muller@fu-berlin.de) or Susana Gonçalves (scgoncal@ci.uc.pt) before April 30, 2010. Informal inquiries are welcome.

We are looking for candidates to apply for an FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) doctoral fellowship, to join us at the Centre for Functional Ecology (http://ecology.uc.pt) at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). The doctoral fellow is expected to develop his/her research within the scope of the AMANITA project (a collaboration between Susana Gonçalves at the Department of Life Sciences of Coimbra University, and Anne Pringle at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology of Harvard University), which aims at gathering baseline data on the biology and ecology of the mycorrhizal fungus Amanita phalloides in Portugal, with special emphasis on possible genetic and/or ecological controls on host associations, thus providing insight into the behavior of A. phalloides in North America, where it was introduced and is now invasive.

Candidates should have a background in biology, with a good knowledge of ecology, and an interest in fungal biology. Experience with basic molecular biology techniques and computer literacy is highly desirable. The doctoral fellowship is open for all nationalities, starts at 980 euros per month (tax-free) and is renewable for up to four years. A call for fellowship applications will open in May 2010, with deadlines for submission in June and September. Earliest starting date will be October 1st, 2010.
Interested candidates should send a covering letter describing their research interests, a CV, and the contact information for three professional referees to Susana Gonçalves (scgoncal@ci.uc.pt) or Anne Pringle (pringle@oeb.harvard.edu) before April 30, 2010. Informal inquiries are welcome.

We are looking for one candidate to apply for an FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) doctoral fellowship, to join us at the Centre for Functional Ecology (http://ecology.uc.pt) and at the Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Research Center of Chemical Engineering of Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (http://www.deq.isel.ipl.pt/cieqb/).

The doctoral fellow is expected to develop his/her research in biological engineering or biotechnology (a collaboration between Marisa Azul (PI) and Prof. Amin Karmali at the Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Research Center and Department of Chemical Engineering of Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa), which aims at gathering information on functional foods and functional metabolites of symbiotic mushrooms, with special emphasis on overproduction, isolation and characterization of novel intracellular and extracellular free and protein-bound polysaccharides, providing information on relevant scenarios of forest management.

Candidates should have a background in biochemistry/molecular biology/biochemical engineering or other related subjects, with a good knowledge of fungal proteins and polysaccharides, and an interest in fungal biotechnology. Experience with basic techniques in biochemistry and microbiology is highly desirable. The doctoral fellowship is open for all nationalities. The grants are funded by Programa Operacional Potencial Humano of QREN Portugal 2007-2013 and by the national budget through MCTES. The funding starts at 980 €/month in Portugal and 1 710 €/month abroad (tax-free), and is renewable for up to four years. The call is open from May 3^rd to September 6^th and will include two evaluation cycles [with deadlines on 5pm on June 14^th and 5pm on September 6^th, 2010]. Earliest starting date will be October 1st, 2010.

Detailed information is available in  http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/concursos/individuais2010  http://www.poph.qren.pt/upload/docs/eixos/D_18370_08_TI_4.1.pdf

Interested candidates should send a covering letter describing their research interests, and the Curriculum Vitae to Anabela Marisa Azul (amjrazul@ci.uc.pt) and Prof. Amin Karmali (akarmali@deq.isel.ipl.pt) before May 30, 2010, for the first evaluation cycle. Informal inquiries are welcome.

We are looking for candidates that want to apply for an FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) doctoral fellowship to join us at the Centre for Functional Ecology (cfe.uc.pt) of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra (Portugal).

The successful candidate will be expected to develop his/her research within the framework of the European project ReproWeed, which will investigate the creation of reproductive barriers between native and non-native ranges of the invasive weed Centaurea solstitialis. The research involves laboratory and field-based work and involves the interaction with an international network of collaborators, with the possibility to travel to California, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Turkey and Spain.

The candidate should have a good scientific background, with an interest into reproductive and evolutionary ecology of invasive weeds, and willingness to learn genetic molecular techniques. A good knowledge of the English language, experience with molecular techniques and ecological statistics is highly desirable.
Candidates should be Portuguese or permanent residents and comply with the conditions to be a candidate for the FCT Doctoral Grants (BD; see previous year conditions at: https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento2011.phtml.en).

The doctoral fellowship includes a monthly payment of 980 euros (tax-free), plus an accident insurance and a monthly contribution to the Portuguese Social Security system (full healthcare and retirement, but no unemployment benefits). The project ReproWeed will cover for all research costs, including travels, attendance to conferences, etc. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years, at the end of which the candidate is expected to defend his or her PhD. dissertation thesis.

A call for fellowship applications will be open until June 21, 2012 but contacts should be made as soon as possible. Interested candidates should send a covering letter describing their research interests and experience, a CV, and the contact information for up to three professional referees to Daniel Montesinos (danimontesinos@gmail.com) or Sílvia Castro (scastro@bot.uc.pt). Informal inquiries are welcome.

MUTUALNET

We are looking for candidates to apply for an FCT post-doctoral fellowship (fellowship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), to work within the MUTUALNET project at the Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra, Portugal (http://ecology.uc.pt). A call for fellowship applications is currently open until June 14th, a second call will be open from June to September 6th. FCT funds 3-year post-doctoral grants with a tax-free salary of 1495€/month. More information can be seen at: http://alfa.fct.mctes.pt/apoios/bolsas/concursos/individuais2010.phtml.en.
 
The post-doctoral fellow is expected to develop his/her research on pollination ecology of invasive acacias within the scope of the MUTUALNET project (May 2010-April 2013). The main objective of this project is to determine the role of below and aboveground mutualisms in the invasive expansion of Australian Acacia species in Portugal. The working hypotheses are: a) the Australian acacias need to find compatible mutualists in the invaded range in order to establish permanent viable populations, and b) the invasion by Australian acacias will disrupt native plant-mutualist networks leading to the degradation of the ecosystem and, therefore, facilitating the progress of invasion.
 
Candidates should have a background in biology, with a good knowledge of pollination and seed dispersal ecology. Interested candidates are asked to send their CV and a short letter describing their research interests and area of expertise to Susana Rodriguez-Echeverria (susanare@ci.uc.pt, http://ecology.uc.pt/SRE) and Silvia Castro (scastro@bot.uc.pt, http://ecology.uc.pt/scastro). More information will be provided afterwards to the selected candidates in order to prepare a successful fellowship application.