Postdoctoral Position in Fungal Cell Biology or Biochemistry / Structural Biology of Starship Transposons

Investigate the molecular mechanisms driving Starship transposon mobility and cargo capture, using an approach suited to your specialty: develop and apply cellular and functional assays (e.g. confocal, single-cell sorting, membrane biology) to track Starship activity and passenger-gene mobilisation within living fungal cells or express, purify and biochemically characterise Starship-encoded proteins (e.g. the Captain tyrosine recombinase and associated factors), and determine their structures to reveal how they recognise and mobilise cargo DNA. Establish and optimise experimental model systems for studying Starship transposon activity in the lab. Work closely with the lab's genomics postdoc to connect population-level patterns with mechanistic findings. Proactively manage the relevant experimental data and resources for your track. Supervise and mentor PhD and Masters students. Assist in the delivery of lectures or seminars for the Plant Disease Dynamics group. Write and publish peer-reviewed manuscripts. Apply for funding to develop research independence.

The newly established Plant Disease Dynamics group at ETH Zurich is looking to recruit a postdoctoral researcher to study how transposons shape the biology of plant pathogenic fungi. This position forms one of three pillars of a collaborative, interdisciplinary research project. A fungal genomics expert has already been recruited to lead the comparative genomics pillar, mining natural fungal populations for the diversity and evolutionary history of Starship transposons. This new position will partner closely with that colleague, contributing either the cell-biology or the biochemistry/structural-biology perspective needed to move from population-level patterns to mechanistic, experimentally validated models of how Starship transposons move and integrate their cargo.

• A PhD in fungal cell biology, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology or a related field

• Evidence of research excellence and ambition through peer-reviewed publications

• Prior experience relevant to your track: wet-lab fungal molecular genetics and cell biology techniques, or protein expression/purification and structural biology methods (X-ray crystallography, cryo-EM or NMR)

• Evidence of commitment to reproducibility, e.g. through careful record-keeping, code repositories or open protocols

• A strong desire to contribute to teaching of both undergraduate and Masters research students

• A desire to establish an independent research area with support/mentorship from Prof. McDonald