E v o l D i r

December 1, 2012 EvolDir 37
related MtDNA diversity & telomeric variation across
mammals using modern molecular biology techniques.
This project will consist of wet laboratory data generation,
comparative genomic and phylogenetic evolutionary
analyses. The student will be expected to participate
in field sessions to gather the required samples.
Therefore, we require an individual that has successful
experience in generating molecular data using modern
laboratory techniques and is willing to optimise and
develop novel molecular protocols. Preference will be
given for candidates that also have experience in phylogenetic
and comparative genomic analyses. An understanding
of mammalian evolutionary history and bat
biology would be desirable. This student must have an
honours B.Sc. in Biology or equivalent and preferably
an M.Sc. or equivalent in Evolutionary Biology. The
position is fully funded for four years, including fees,
student stipend, travel to conferences and workshops.
Start date January 1st 2013.
(2)PhD 2: The successful candidate will explore the
age related population level changes in the trascriptome
gathered from a wild population of bats. Their primary
role will be to collect, extract, sequence and analyse
the transcriptome data from samples that he/she will
acquire through the field sessions. This project will
consist primarily of wet laboratory data generation, de
novo transcriptome assembly and comparative analyses.
Therefore, we require an individual with primarily
bioinformatic experience in assembling and analyzing
next generation sequence data. The individual should
also have experience/understanding of the wet laboratory
generation of these data and a willingness to develop
these skills if necessary. Preference will be given
to candidates that have both the bioinformatic and the
wet laboratory experience in the generation and analyses
of next generation transcriptome data. An understanding
of mammalian evolutionary history and bat
biology would be desirable. This student must have an
honours B.Sc. or equivalent and preferably an M.Sc.or
equivalent. The position is fully funded for four years,
including fees, student stipend, travel to conferences
and workshops. Start date January 1st- June 2013.
Both PhD students will become part of a larger ERC
funded multidisciplinary team.
To apply, please send a full C.V. detailing your experience
and contact details of three referees. Also include
a cover letter that indicates: (1) which PhD you would
like to apply for; (2) why you are interested in this
research; (3) how your past experience makes you the
ideal candidate; and (4), your goals for the future.
Applications must be emailed as a pdf by 18 Novemeber
2012 to be eligible to:
emma.teeling@ucd.ie
Dr. Emma Teeling Science Centre West School
of Biology and Environmental Science University
College Dublin Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Email: emma.teeling@ucd.ie Phone: +1 353 1
716 2263 http://batlab.ucd.ie/ Emma Teeling
UEdinburgh DiseaseEvolution
PhD STUDENTSHIP IN DISEASE ECOLOGY Centre
for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, University
of Edinburgh
The dynamics of coinfection: understanding the
immune- and resource-mediated mechanisms that drive
within-host parasite interactions
Supervisors: Dr Amy Pedersen (Institute of Evolutionary
Biology, University of Edinburgh) Prof. Judi Allen
(Institute of Immunology and Infection Research,
University of Edinburgh) Dr Andy Fenton (Institute
of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool) Interested
individuals must follow the instructions at this
link on how to apply http://www.ed.ac.uk/schoolsdepartments/biology/postgraduate/pgr/how-to-apply
If you would like us to consider you for one of our
scholarships you must apply by 18th January 2013 at
the latest.
Individuals are typically hosts to a variety of parasite
species, representing vast taxonomic diversity, and exploiting
a wide range of host tissues and resources. This
diversity creates a dynamic and complex parasite community
within individuals, which may be structured
by interspecific interactions, either bottom-up’ (via resource
competition) or top-down’ (via the host’s immune
system). Within-host interactions between coinfecting
parasites can be critical to the fitness and dynamics
of both the parasites and the host. A growing
literature emphasises the potential importance of such
interactions to population and community ecology and
various longitudinal field studies have demonstrated the
ubiquity of co-infection in the wild. However, evidence
of interactions between co-infecting parasites in natural
populations remains equivocal, and the mechanisms
that drive these interactions have been poorly studied.
Therefore many key questions remain unanswered, particularly
relating to the type of mechanisms that shape
within-host parasite communities, which is vital for the
design of effective long-term disease control strategies.