Position opening: PhD in Zoology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada
Deadline for applications: 15 Nov 2024
Expected starting date: May or Sept 2025
Zoology program: https://zoology.ubc.ca/graduate-program
More information: www.ArthropodLegs.com https://biodiversity.ubc.ca/profiles/heather-bruce
Summary
A 4-year PhD fellowship is available at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, to develop the garden millipede, Oxidus gracilis, into the first lab-tractable myriapod model species with tools including in situ Hybridization Chain Reaction (HCR), CRISPR-Cas9, and a sequenced transcriptome. These tools will be used to compare Oxidus to two other arthropods – the crustacean Parhyale and the insect Tribolium – in order to understand how morphologies and their underlying gene regulatory networks evolve over immense timescales of half a billion years.
For this project, you will investigate whether genes known to pattern crustacean gills and insect tracheae are also involved in patterning millipede tracheae, which would suggest that all three structures evolved from the same structure in their shared ancestor. You will examine embryonic gene expression using in situ Hybridization Chain Reaction (HCR), and examine gene function by performing embryonic microinjection of CRISPR-Cas9. You will also dissect and mount HCR embryos and CRISPR hatchlings for confocal imaging.
Importantly, Oxidus millipede does not currently have any molecular tools. Therefore, the first part of your project will be to help me develop tools and resources for Oxidus, including HCR and CRISPR-Cas9. This will involve the trial and error of figuring out how to micro-inject their embryos, and optimizing rearing conditions for embryos, hatchlings, and adults. Experience raising terrestrial invertebrate pets is a plus.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in biology, molecular biology, or equivalent
- Works well with others and takes direction well
- Work a full 40-hour week, with occasional night or weekend work
- Ability to train and mentor new people from diverse backgrounds
Working Environment
The Bruce lab is a new, evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) lab in the Department of Zoology – Evolution at the University of British Columbia and you will be my first PhD student! My mentorship philosophy is that I am training you to be my future colleague, so I have high expectations, but I also believe in work-life balance and creating a welcoming environment where all humans can thrive and develop into our best selves. As my first PhD student, we will co-create this environment together, and I hope you will help me become my best PI just as much as I help you become your best PhD student.
Women, rural, First Nations, 2SLGBTQIA, BIPOC, non-traditional and returning students, and students who are the first in their family to earn a bachelor’s degree are especially encouraged to apply.
How to apply
Please upload your CV and fill out this survey here: https://form.jotform.com/242534537864262
20min Zoom interviews of the top 3 – 6 students will most likely be during the last week of November 2024
