We seek to appoint an enthusiastic postdoctoral research associate to work on a new project “SymbiOtIc soLutions for HEalthy Agricultural Landscapes (SOIL-HEAL)” funded for 36 months by BBSRC as part of the European Joint Programme on Soils. The overall goal of SOIL-HEAL is to realise the potential of symbiotic soil fungi for sustainable agriculture to foster holistic and sustainable agricultural soil management practices. Most plants have coevolved with soil fungi to form root-fungal ("mycorrhizal") symbioses that are critical for regulating numerous ecosystem functions and services in natural and agricultural settings. An important feature of mycorrhizal fungi is their ability to form ‘networks’, which comprise three distinct elements: extra-radical mycelium, common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs), where a fungus links two or more plants, and community-level ‘interaction networks’ between and among mycorrhizal plant and fungal species.
You will be responsible for undertaking field and laboratory based experiments to gain a deeper understanding of 1) how grassland management practices impact hyphal production and turnover and plant-fungal interaction networks, 2) how CMNs regulate ecosystem functions and their moderation by grassland management practices, and 3) the contribution of recent photosynthate to mycorrhizal fungi by different plant functional types and its relationship with the structure of plant-fungal interaction networks. You will join a dynamic and large research group at Manchester and will actively be collaborative with project teams in Berlin, Turin and Dublin. She or he will also take a lead role in synthesising results from across the research network.
The Department is strongly committed to promoting equality and diversity, including the Athena SWAN charter for gender equality in higher education. The Department holds a Bronze Award for their good practice in relation to gender; including flexible working arrangements, family-friendly policies, and support to allow staff to achieve a god work-life balance. We positively welcome applications from women for this post. All appointments will always be made on merit. For further information, please visit: (insert website hyperlink)
http://www.seaes.manchester.ac.uk/about-us/athena-swan/
Our University is positive about flexible working – you can find out more here
Blended working arrangements may be considered
Please note that we are unable to respond to enquiries, accept CVs or applications from Recruitment Agencies.
Enquiries about the vacancy, shortlisting and interviews:
Name: Prof David Johnson
Email: David.johnson-2@manchester.ac.uk
General enquiries:
Email: People.Recruitment@manchester.ac.uk
Technical support:
https://jobseekersupport.jobtrain.co.uk/support/home
This vacancy will close for applications at midnight on the closing date.
Please see the link below for the Further Particulars document which contains the person specification criteria.
