Doctoral student in Biology (Invertebrate colour vision)

Doctoral Student in Biology (Invertebrate Colour Vision)

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 46,000 students and 8,500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard equality, equal opportunities and diversity as a strength and an asset.

For your doctoral research, you will be a part of the Bok lab, which uses a wide range of techniques to study the evolution and ecology of vision in diverse invertebrates. The lab is embedded within the Lund Vision Group, a highly collaborative cluster of eight labs, internationally recognised as one of the leading centres in comparative visual science in the world. With 35-40 academics at all education and career stages, our vision research stretches across the entire animal kingdom, from jellyfishes, insects, and crustaceans, to squids and vertebrates. Our speciality is the design and evolution of eyes, how eyes are adapted to different lifestyles and habitats, and how vision is used for navigation and for controlling behaviour. Our techniques range from optics, electrophysiology and theoretical modelling, to microscopy, molecular biology and behavioural experiments. This thriving research environment offers broad support for doctoral education and research.

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University. As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors. Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.

Aims: Colour vision has only to date been conclusively shown to exist in two of Earth's approximately 32 animal phyla – vertebrates and arthropods. However, there are two additional known examples where colour vision may be possible – the firefly squid, a mollusc, and the alciopid worm, an annelid. Both are midwater marine species that are night active and live in deep water, yet they have astonishing retinal specializations that may contribute to colour vision. The aims of this PhD thesis will be to discover if these marine invertebrates have convergently evolved colour vision. Further, what behaviours are controlled by colour vision, and do they use the same visual processing circuits and principles to interpret colour information as we see in arthropods and vertebrates? This project will answer these questions using molecular, neurological, electrophysiological, and behavioural techniques in the field and lab.

Project background: This project grows naturally from ongoing research in the Bok Lab and contributes directly to our overall projects regarding the evolution of complex eyes and visual capabilities in crustaceans (water fleas and mantis shrimp) cephalopods (firefly squid), and polychaetes (alciopids and fan worms). The student will benefit from mentorship from the Bok lab's existing postdoctoral researchers who have completed preliminary work for this project. Further, the project synergises well with other research in Sensory Biology and Aquatic Ecology units. The Bok lab has recently been awarded several large grants from the ERC, Swedish Research Council, and the Human Frontiers Science Program, so the PhD student will benefit from a growing and dynamic academic environment.

You will primarily devote yourself to your doctoral education, which mainly consists of writing a doctoral thesis. You are expected to participate in a research project, doctoral courses, seminars and conferences. In the research project, you will use cutting edge behavioural, molecular, and neuroanatomical techniques to explore the function and evolution of possible colour receptors and their role in the visual ecology of polychaetes and cephalopods:

• Behaviour: At field stations in Italy and Japan, we will perform behavioural experiments testing the response of both species to colour and polarization stimuli. This will be based on custom light sources and projection screen setups that can vary the two light modalities independently.
• Molecules: Alongside postdocs in the Bok Lab (Vanessa Stenvers and Alida Avola), the PhD student will use the results of single-nucleolus transcriptomic data to localize distinct photoreceptor and visual interneuron classes in the retina and optic lobe of both species.
• Circuits: SBEM will be used to create connectomic resolution volume data for the retina and optic lobe of both species. Photoreceptor and interneuron synaptic connections and projections will be mapped to decipher the visual circuits. These data, along with the results from the molecular section will then be used to inform electrophysiology recordings to discover putative colour and polarisation opponent neurons in the optic lobe.

In addition to studies, a maximum of 20% of working time may be spent on teaching and other departmental work. You are expected to gain pedagogical experience as lab instructors for undergradate courses run by the Sensory Biology unit, and there are ample opportunities to gain experience in outreach and academic activities. You will be provided ample opportunities to present your work at local and international research conferences.

To be eligible for admission and employment as a doctoral student, you must fulfil the requirements below.

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Biology if the applicant has completed an independent work (e.g. degree project) in a relevant subject comprising at least 30 higher education credits and have good oral and written proficiency in English. The special qualification may also have been obtained through other equivalent education, which is assessed on a case-by-case basis. In order to enable interdisciplinary initiatives and significant in-depth studies in certain areas, qualifications other than the applicant's subject-specific competence in Biology may be taken into account.

In order to complete the doctoral programme in question, the following are also required:

• Master's degree in biology/marine biology or substantial equivalent knowledge acquired in some other way.
• Practical experience with animal vision behavioral experiments.
• Experience with fieldwork-based research.
• Good ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Good ability to cooperate with colleagues and collaborators
• Very good knowledge of English, spoken and written

The selection of eligible applicants will be made taking into account the ability to benefit from the training based on the following criteria:

• Knowledge and/or experience with animal vision, sensory biology, and visual ecology, and with the requirements and methods listed above.
• Experience in data processing, statistical computing, and scripting in Python, Matlab and R, or equivalent.
• Demonstrate independence, collegiality and enthusiasm.
• Passion for scientific communication and outreach.

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme.

Tagged as: Life Sciences