Postdoctoral Position in parasitic protist diversity, ecology, evolution and interactions We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher for a 3-year position in the Diversity, ecology, and interactions of Perkinsea parasitic protists in freshwater ecosystems PERKFresh project, funded by the Polish National Science Centre and the Czech Science Foundation and led by Dr Anna Karnkowska (University of Warsaw) and Dr Elisabeth Hehenberger (Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences). The PERKFresh project investigates the diversity, ecology, and host–parasite interactions of Perkinsea, a diverse and widespread group of unicellular eukaryotic parasites that are particularly abundant in freshwater ecosystems but remain poorly understood. We will study Perkinsea communities across lakes of the Masurian Lakeland in northeastern Poland, spanning environmental gradients from relatively pristine to strongly human-impacted habitats. The project will combine field sampling, long-read metabarcoding, CARD-FISH, network analyses, single-cell transcriptomics, phylogenomics, and laboratory infection experiments to determine which Perkinsea lineages occur in freshwater, what hosts they infect, how they interact with their hosts, and what ecological roles they play. By linking parasite diversity and abundance with environmental conditions and host populations, the project will provide new insights into the role of parasitism in freshwater ecosystems and how anthropogenic pressures may influence these interactions. We are looking for a candidate with expertise in one or more of the following: - Protistology, parasitology or microbial eukaryotes - Environmental biology, freshwater ecology - Metabarcoding, environmental sequencing - Bioinformatics, statistical analysis of biological data We are especially interested in candidates who enjoy working across field biology, molecular methods, bioinformatics and evolutionary ecology. You will join the Genomics and Evolution of Microbial Eukaryotes team led by Anna Karnkowska at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Warsaw. Start: 1 January 2027 or later Application deadline: 6 November 2026 Full job advertisement: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/466845 Project website: https://ibe.biol.uw.edu.pl/en/projects/perkfresh/ Please feel free to reach out with any questions at the email address listed below. Anna Karnkowska Institute of Evolutionary Biology Biological and Chemical Research Centre University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland Web Lab.: https://ibe.biol.uw.edu.pl/en/835-2/research-groups/eukaryotic-microorganisms/genomics-and-evolution-of-eukaryotic-microorganisms/ Anna Karnkowska (to subscribe/unsubscribe the EvolDir send mail to evoldir@evoldir.net)