Assistant Professor (forskarassistent)

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology, Uppsala ASSISTANT PROFESSOR (forskarassistent) in Plant Pathology, "Molecular approaches for studying interactions between parasitic fungi and their hosts" The Department of Forest Mycology and Pathology is part of the newly established BioScience cluster, Uppsala BioCenter. The cluster also contains five other departments: Plant Biology and Forest Genetics, Microbiology, Chemistry, Food Science and Molecular Biology. Within the Department we conduct studies of mycology, fungal ecology and plant diseases in agriculture and forestry. Expertise - is among others - to study function and diversity of fungi in complex environments. Research area: The successful applicant will be part of a new program with special focus on plant/pathogen interactions and fungal/fungal interactions as they relate to plant pathology and fungal ecology in agriculture crops. The candidate will have good possibilities for building up a personal research profile within the subject area. The interactions will be studied at the molecular- cellular- and whole plant level. Secreted enzymes, peptides and secondary metabolites are important in these interactions. The aim is to improve understanding of mechanisms behind biological disease control and how important fungal pathogens infect their host plant and causes disease. Addressing these aspects is highly relevant for agriculture and forestry and it has also proven useful in discovering new genes for industrial use in food, feed and in the non-food area. Duties: The primary duty of an Assistant Professor at the Faculty is to develop the science within the subject area. An Assistant Professor is alsowill also be expected to contribute to the education of students at the faculty. Eligibility: Applicants should have a PhD degree or a foreign degree deemed to be equivalent to a doctorate. Priority will be given to applicants who have been awarded their PhD degree at most five years before the application date. Assessment criteria: Particular emphasis will be placed on scientific qualifications within the subject area. Fluency in written and spoken English is desirable. The assistant professor is also required to be enterprising and to possess good interpersonal skills. Applicants with competence in several of the following methods will be preferred: RNA/DNA purification from environmental samples Construction of cDNA libraries Gene finding and gene discovery Fungal transformation for use with DNA reporter technology (gfp, DsRed etc.) Constructions for gene knock outs and reporter/promoter fusions qPCR including primer design for studying gene regulation Molecular diagnosis of plant diseases and characterization of fungi/fungal diversity Basic knowledge about bioinformatics related to the above mentioned methods The position is full-time and will be granted for a period of four years, starting as soon as possible. For a complete advt: personal.slu.se/job