Institution
Carnegie Institution for Science
Location
Stanford, CA, USA
Earliest starting date
November 1, 2021
Closing date
Flexible, accepting applications until filled.

Description
The Burlacot lab is opening on October 1, 2021 at the Department of Plant Biology of the Carnegie Institution for Science. We will start a scientific journey in the study of the molecular mechanisms that allow photosynthesis to be the major CO2 cycling mechanism in the atmosphere. We are seeking for a highly motivated and creative person to start developing new methods for understanding the response of algal photosynthesis to fluctuating environments. We aim to recruit highly motivated and creative people with strong training in quantitative biophysics/ photosynthesis/ algal biology.

Our lab aims to understand the acclimation of photosynthesis to environmental fluctuations and the dynamics of the molecular mechanisms involved. The questions that our lab aims to address are: How are microalgae dynamically reacting to environmental fluctuations? How do molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis dynamically interact to optimise cell survival and growth under fluctuating conditions? How do the different time scales of photosynthetic energy transfers combine at various time scales of light fluctuations? What genes are important for acclimation to such fluctuations? Can we modify key enzymes to make photosynthesis more robust to some environments?

Qualifications

• PhD in Plant science, Microbiology, Biophysics or a related field.
• Track record of research productivity and creativity.
• Willingness to take responsibilities in a small team and to interact closely with colleagues.
• Willingness to take part in building a dynamic, inclusive and interactive lab atmosphere.
• Willingness to develop synergistic interactions with other labs from the Carnegie Institution for Science and from Stanford University.
• Programming skills: ability to develop and implement simple codes in Python and/or Mathlab to treat and analyse large data set automatically.
• A willingness to promote science through popularization and track record of previously taken actions are a plus.