At the Institute of Microbiology, Research Group "Coastal Microbiomes", which belongs to the University of Greifswald’s Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, there is a job vacancy, subject to the allocation of funds, expected to be available from 01 October 2025, for a part-time position (65 %) as
Research Assistant.
The position is limited until 30 June 2029. Payment will be made in accordance with pay group 13 TV-L Wissenschaft.
We are seeking highly motivated candidates for the newly established Collaborative Research Centre “CONCENTRATE”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). CONCENTRATE combines expertise from the University of Greifswald, the University of Bremen, the MPI for Marine Microbiology Bremen, the MPI of Colloids and Interfaces Potsdam, the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research and the Technical University of Berlin. The research programme of CONCENTRATE aims to decipher the molecular and microbial processes that lead to the stabilisation of glycans in the ocean. In an interdisciplinary approach, the research team combines laboratory experiments with measurements in natural marine habitats. The focus is on the interactions between algae, bacteria, fungi and their glycans and proteins, examined at an atomic level in the Ångström range. Exploring these fundamental microbiological and biochemical mechanisms will improve our understanding of carbon fluxes in the oceans.
You will work on the Collaborative Research Centre’s subproject HOME (A06), in which we investigate how phytoplankton-produced glycans influence the composition of bacterial microbiomes and thus affect carbon sequestration. We aim to decipher the genetic basis of glycan production in phytoplankton and how this production influences interactions with bacteria in the area around algae cells. You will be responsible for conducting co-cultivation experiments with marine phytoplankton and bacterial communities, including generation, analysis and ecological interpretation of complex ‘metaomics’ data sets. As a microbiologist and ecologist, you will be a key member of our interdisciplinary team.
Tasks:
- Isolation and cultivation of phytoplankton in the laboratory
- Planning, implementation, sampling and analysis of co-cultivation experiments with phytoplankton and bacteria
- Sample processing using molecular biology techniques
- Analysis of complex data sets using bioinformatics and biostatistics
- Presentation of scientific results
- Preparation of scientific publications
- The position provides the opportunity for academic qualification; tasks will be assigned that are conducive to the preparation of a doctorate
Required:
- M.Sc. degree (or equivalent) in biology or another related discipline by the time employment starts
- Solid knowledge of microbiology, molecular biology and ecology
- Experience with experimental approaches in microbiology and ecology
- Excellent English language skills
Desired:
- Strong interest in basic research related to marine microbiology and glycobiology
- Experience with the statistical programming language R
- High level of motivation and exceptional qualifications for actively joining an interdisciplinary research and training environment
- Ability to work independently with hands-on mentality, team spirit, helpfulness and reliability
This vacancy is open to all persons, irrespective of gender. Severely disabled applicants with the same qualifications will be considered with preference.
In accordance with § 68(3) PersVG M-V, the Staff Council will only be involved in staff matters of the academic or artistic staff on request.
Unfortunately, application costs (e.g. travel expenses for interviews) will not be reimbursed by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Please note that by submitting your application, you provide your consent pursuant to data protection law for our processing of your application data. Further information about the legal bases and the use of your data can be found here.
Applications comprising all usual documents must be sent with reference to the job advertisement number 25/Wi21by 15 August 2025, preferably via email (one PDF file), to:
University of Greifswald
Institute of Microbiology
Dr. Mia Bengtsson
Felix-Hausdorff-Straße 8
17489 Greifswald
mia.bengtsson@uni-greifswald.de