Position Announcement at Northern Arizona University
Ph.D. student to study molecular genetics of mycorrhizal fungal communities The Johnson Lab of Soil Ecology at Northern Arizona University has an opening for a Ph.D. student to study arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in a series of field studies designed to examine the importance of geographic location, host plant genetics and soil fertility on the structure of AM fungal communities. This position will provide graduate training and experiences through participation in a USDA funded collaborative research project involving research laboratories in the United States and Europe. Molecular genetics will be used to identify Glomeromycota inhabiting the roots of prairie grasses in large-scale field studies. These findings will be combined with studies of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics to gain insights about the role of mycorrhizal symbioses and plant diversity in belowground carbon sequestration. Research collaborators: Nancy Johnson, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff Arizona USA Gail Wilson, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater Oklahoma USA R. Michael Miller, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois USA Philippe Vandenkoornhuyse, University of Rennes, France Find information about the Johnson Laboratory of Soil Ecology at: http://nau.edu/CEFNS/NatSci/SESES/Research/Labs-Collections/Soil-Ecology/ Find information about the Graduate Programs at Northern Arizona University at: http://nau.edu/gradcol/welcome/ Find information about the Argonne experimental site at: http://www.bio.anl.gov/environmental_biology/terrestrial_ecology/csite.html Qualifications: • - Interest in mycorrhizal ecology • - Master’s degree (or bachelors degree with extensive molecular experience) • - Experience extracting and amplifying fungal DNA • - Experience using bioinformatics software • - English fluency and strong writing skills Application Deadline: Send CV to Nancy Johnson by January 1, 2013 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 928-523-6473 School of Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability Department of Biological Sciences Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ 86011 USA
