The Aquatic Processes Group is a dynamic multi-disciplinary research team within the UTS Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster (C3). Members include plant physiologists, molecular biologists, biochemists, microbial ecologists, photosynthetic and cellular energetic modellers, oceanographers and optical physicists. We are seeking potential PhD candidates to join our research group.
Project Background: Using changes in gene regulation to understand fluctuations in seagrass abundance
The PhD candidate will apply photobiology and plant physiology techniques in combination with plant molecular biology tools to better understand how seagrasses, and in particular their root systems, respond to various environmental conditions and how this affects seagrass abundance.
This work will be performed in collaboration with experts from CSIRO and contribute to an on-going seagrass research project.
The student will be supervised by Professor Peter Ralph (UTS) and Dr Martin Schliep (UTS) with the opportunity for additional supervisors, as the project evolves
Project details:
The successful applicant will
i) identify environmental conditions affecting seagrass abundance,
ii) apply plant physiology and molecular biology techniques to understand the negative effects on seagrass root health,
iii) determine the importance of a healthy root system to the overall performance of a seagrass meadow, and
iv) develop methods to monitor seagrass root health.
Desirable skills:
Applicants should have first class honours (or Masters Degree) in plant molecular biology or relevant discipline. Australian and New Zealand applicants will be preferred; other applicants will need to be competitive for an international postgraduate research scholarship at UTS which covers tuition fees for 3 years. This usually means having a Masters degree (or equivalent) with several publications.
The successful candidate may be eligible for top up scholarship funding; however this is dependent upon the calibre of applicant and the project.
How to apply:
Applications and enquires to Dr Martin Schliep ( martin.schliep@uts.edu.au) by 9th July 2012. Applicants must include:
•Full CV combined with a statement of research intent for undertaking this particular PhD project
•Three referees
•Research proposal (one page) - aligned with the project described above.
PhD Scholarship Seagrass Root Systems (PDF 344KB)
