A 100% funded PhD (3-4 years) position is available in the establishing research group of Evolutionary Game Theory led by Professor Xiang-Yi Li Richter at the University of Bern, Switzerland. The positions are part of the Swiss National Science Foundation Starting Grants project "Integrating modeling and experiments to study species coexistence in metacommunities."
The candidate is expected to use mainly theoretical approaches (e.g., mathematical modeling and computer simulations) to study the following research questions:
1. How do higher-order multi-species biological interactions play out in heterogeneous spatial networks? 2. How do the dispersal network topology and dispersal rate influence the likelihood of coexistence? 3. Does the evolution of traits in each species promote or impede coexistence? Is coexistence more likely when the interacting species coevolve?
The candidate must be highly motivated, creative, and able to work independently and collaboratively. Applicants from diverse scientific backgrounds (e.g., physics, mathematics, computer sciences, and biology) are encouraged. In their motivation letters, applicants from outside biology should state why they are interested in the study of ecology and evolution, and applicants from biology should state why they are interested in collaborating with theoreticians. The candidate should have excellent mathematics and programming skills, and ideally, experience working on an HPC cluster. English is the working language of our institute. For the PhD position, a Master's degree is required. The positions are open to applicants worldwide. We are committed to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in evolutionary biology and especially encourage applicants from underrepresented groups.
The desired starting dates are negotiable, but ideally between September and December 2023.
We offer
The gross salary is around 48K CHF per year for PhD students. We offer a stimulating research environment with access to high-performance computation facilities, funding for presenting studies at international conferences at least once a year, and unlimited funding for publishing peer-reviewed articles in open-access journals. The city of Bern is ideally located in the middle of Switzerland and Europe, and provides rich cultural and outdoor activities. Both French and German are spoken in the Canton of Bern.
Contact and application
For informal inquiries regarding the position and for submitting your application, please send an email to Prof. Xiang-Yi Li Richter at [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed continuously until the position is filled. Applicants must submit one merged PDF file that includes a letter of motivation (max 2 pages), a CV, and names of two referees who have agreed to provide a letter of recommendation if contacted, and copies of relevant publications and/or preprints. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
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