The University of Helsinki, founded in 1640, is one of the world’s leading universities for multidisciplinary research. The university has an international academic community of 40,000 students and staff
members. The University of Helsinki offers comprehensive services to its employees, including occupational health care and health insurance, sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development. The International Staff Services office assists employees from abroad with their transition to work and life in Finland.

The Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme (OEB) of the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences comprises roughly 40 research groups which employ 40 principal investigators
and 120 researchers. The research programme is situated in the Viikki science park.

The Organismal and Evolutionary Research Programme invites applications for a

DOCTORAL STUDENT IN PLANT GENETICS

The doctoral student will be employed full-time for a fixed term of two years in the research group of assoc. prof. Roosa Laitinen. The earliest starting date is 1st April 2022 or by a mutual agreement.

Roosa Laitinen´ s research group utilizes both global and local accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana to understand the mechanisms of plant adaptation and evolution. We combine methods of genetics and
genomics to state-of-art molecular methods that are available for Arabidopsis. Our aim is to identify genes that allow plants to adapt to changing environments and to translate the knowledge to improve
crop plants.

We are seeking a doctoral student to work on a project investigating the genetic factors underlying plasticity in flowers and in leaves in response to different environments in A. thaliana. The aim is to use take advantage of the natural variation in A. thaliana and use GWA analysis together with transgenic and mutant approaches to identify genes that regulate growth plasticity in A. thaliana.

We seek highly motivated candidates with excellent communicational skills, and who can work both independently and in team environments. Fluency in English is expected. The candidate should have MSc degree in genetics, molecular biology, biology or related fields and to have proven academic ability to take initiative and think independently as well as experience in working with plants.

For more information, contact assoc. prof. Roosa Laitinen: Roosa.Laitinen@helsinki.fi

The position is fixed-term (24 months) with a six-month probation period and requires traveling. Salary is based on levels 2-4 of the demands level chart for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal performance with the overall salary amounting to approximately 2200−3000 €/month (gross) depending on the stage of the doctoral studies and work performance. Standard Finnish pension benefits, occupational health care and health insurance are provided for the University employees. The University offers comprehensive services including sports facilities, and opportunities for professional development.

PhD degree consists of the student’s own research work and studies specific to the doctoral candidate's discipline or research field, as well as transferable skills training, and career orientation and guidance (40
ECTS). English is the primary language of study in doctoral education. The University has 4,700 doctoral students, one-fourth of them international students, and awards approximately 500 doctoral degrees
annually. The successful candidate will apply for the right to study for a doctoral degree in a PhD program of the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research/doctoral-education/doctoral-schools-and-programmes).

Application should include the following documents as a single pdf file: motivational letter (max 1 page) and CV (max 2 pages). Include also contact information of two persons who can provide a reference
letter based on request.

Please submit your application using the University of Helsinki Recruitment System via the Apply link.

Applicants who are employees of the University of Helsinki are requested to leave their application via the SAP HR portal. The deadline for submitting the application is 15th February 2022.

Due date

15.02.2022 23:59 EET