Good morning!

The Charvet Lab at Susquehanna University seeks a highly motivated Postdoctoral Scientist for a two-year position supported by a collaborative National Science Foundation grant. The successful candidate will join the P-MixSwitch project, a collaboration between Susquehanna University and the University of Arizona, investigating the physiological and genetic mechanisms that enable small marine mixoplankton to switch between photosynthetic and predatory lifestyles.

About the P-MixSwitch Project
Mixoplankton are ecologically important eukaryotic microorganisms that acquire energy and nutrients through both photosynthesis (phototrophy) and prey consumption (phagotrophy). This dual nutritional strategy allows mixoplankton to play a critical role in global carbon and nutrient cycling. However, the environmental and cellular factors that regulate transitions between phototrophic and phagotrophic modes remain poorly understood.

The P-MixSwitch project seeks to uncover the mechanisms underlying this metabolic flexibility by tracking carbon and phosphorus fluxes through nutrient uptake, photosynthetic carbon fixation, and phagotrophic ingestion of prey. Using physiological, molecular, and transcriptomic approaches, the project will characterize the cellular and subcellular changes associated with trophic switching in ecologically important prasinophyte mixoplankton. This work will advance understanding of the role of marine mixoplankton in carbon cycling within oligotrophic ocean ecosystems.

Research Environment
The Charvet Lab at Susquehanna University uses molecular biology and bioinformatics approaches to investigate genes and pathways involved in mixoplankton phagotrophy under varying environmental conditions. As part of the P-MixSwitch project, the Postdoctoral Scientist will participate in collaborative experimental work with the University of Arizona, followed by RNA extraction, transcriptome sequencing, and gene expression analyses of key prasinophyte strains.

This is a full-time, two-year postdoctoral appointment funded by the National Science Foundation, with an anticipated start date of January 2027. 

Apply here! 
https://www.schooljobs.com/careers/susqu/jobs/5479265/postdoctoral-scientist?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

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