International – The Institute of Plant Genetics PAS – Poznan, POLAND

JOB VACANCIES
The ERA Chairs project "The Creation of the Department of Integrative Plant Biology” (BIOTALENT), realized by the Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences from July
2014 to June 2019, is supported by the EU FP7 Programme.
The Director of the Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPG PAS), Poznan,
POLAND – prof. Bogdan WOLKO announces an open competition for 2 full-time positions
for established researchers (R3) at the Department of Integrative Plant Biology, willing to join the
international integrative plant biology team created at IPG PAS as a part of the FP7-ERA Chairs EU
funded project (acronym: BIO-TALENT).
SENIOR 1 (Code: R3_PHENOMICS) – established researcher (R3) in plant phenomics, biometry and
imaging software development
The Candidate should have a strong background in computer science, image analysis and plant
growth modelling. The selected person should be able to communicate and share the ideas and
practical solutions with specialists on bioinformatics and plant molecular and developmental biology
in order to develop and implement innovative software solutions for plant growth imaging as well as
building new molecular/cellular-based interaction models. The main focus of work should be
development and use of cutting-edge imaging solutions having potential for application in analysis of
growth changes in crop plants subjected to certain environmental factors or artificially-driven
changes in anatomical/physiological mechanisms regulating final plant form. The successful
candidate who will join this group will establish interdisciplinary research program focused on the
development of new plant imaging software and imaging techniques as well as generation of
growth models useful for the engineering of new growth patterns and anatomical/physiological
features increasing tolerance to environmental and biotic factors in economically important plants.
SENIOR 2 (Code: R3_TRANSCRIPTOMICS): established researcher (R3) in large scale transcriptomics
The Candidate should have a substantial experience with a large scale transcriptomics experiments
based on sequencing or microarray techniques. Additionally, the knowledge on bioinformatics and
reverse genetics (TILLING) will be appreciated. The successful candidate will take part in
an interdisciplinary research program focused on the exploration of plant developmental
mechanisms for the engineering of new traits increasing tolerance to environmental and abiotic
factors in economically important plants.
The successful candidate is expected to develop his/her own research as well as cooperate with
other BIO-TALENT team members. The BIO-TALENT team will consist of 3 experienced researchers
(including the ERA Chair holder) specializing in:
molecular and cellular aspects of plant development [ERA Chair holder]
phenomics and plant imaging specialist [SENIOR 1]
large scale transcriptomics, reverse genetics and data analysis specialist [SENIOR 2]
The team will also consist of a junior and senior post doc, 2 PhD students and a broker of innovation.
Due to the international character of the team a good English language skill is required and
collaborative research at the Institute and international levels is expected. Organizational skills and
experience in managing projects are essential.
Obligations:
According to the BIO-TALENT Project approved by the European Commission, the SENIOR
RESEACHER is obliged to:
- write grant proposals,
- co-organize 20 lectures, 6 one-day workshops, 2 summer schools (two days each) organized within
the project.
Career Stage: Experienced Researcher
Research Profile: Established Researcher (R3)
Gross monthly salary: 5 000 € (includes insurance costs paid by the employer)
Employment at the IPG PAS will be in the form of a full-time job contract in the period of the project
(up to 50 months: May 2015 – June 2019). The payment will include insurance and health care, in
agreement with the rules of Polish legislation.
Deadline for submission of the applications: 22 March 2015 (midnight)
Applications should be submitted by email (pdf format only, attachments up to 10 MB) and
addressed to: biotalent@igr.poznan.pl Please include the relevant code of the job position
(R3_PHENOMICS or R3_TRANSCRIPTOMICS).
Documents to be submitted
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Cover letter
Detailed CV
Document confirming the status of PhD
Description of scientific career, documenting the fulfillment of job requirements
Two letters of support to be submitted separately by the referees sent to
biotalent@igr.poznan.pl
6) Description of research plans including cooperative work in BIO-TALENT team
7) List of all original publications, from the oldest to the most recent, each with the Impact
factor and the number of citations (according to the Web of Knowledge/Web of Science)
and Impact factor of the journal in the year of publication. The name of the candidate
should be in bold type, and underlined if the candidate was a corresponding author.
8) Hirsch index and the overall list of citations (Web of Knowledge/Web of Science).
9) List of national and international projects: a) coordinated, b) participated, including the
information on granted funds and project results, publications, commercialization of
products or methodologies.
10) List of academic skills, including experience in teaching, research team leadership,
administrative duties, PhD and MSc supervision/mentoring.
11) List of foreign fellowships, studies, sabbatical stays, practical and theoretical trainings in
a foreign country (mobility).
12) List of patents, cooperation with the industry, national and international projects including
the cooperation with the industry (please list the granted funds and the result of each
project).
13) Other skills, not listed above, but important for the project.
The application must contain the following statement:
"I hereby give consent for my personal data included in my offer to be processed for the purposes of
recruitment, in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act dated August, 29,1997
(consolidated text, Dz.U. [ Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland] of 2014, item 1182 with further
amendments)".
The application should contain the full set of documents, which should be sent by email to
biotalent@igr.poznan.pl by 22 March 2015
All applications will be acknowledged. In the case of any problems or lack of acknowledgement do
not hesitate to contact the Administrative Manager (asta@igr.poznan.pl) or the ERA Chair holder
(rmal@igr.poznan.pl).
Selection procedure
IPG PAS has been awarded the logo of ‘HR Excellence in Research’, thus the provisions of the Charter
and Code will be respected in the selection procedure.
The recruitment process will be carried out in a five-step selection procedure:
Step 1: the pre-selection of a few top candidates by the team composed of the ERA Chair holder, the
Project Coordinator and the Deputy Director for Research at IPG PAS
The evaluation procedure will take into account the candidate's overall research activity and
research results. Due to the fact that the selected person will work in the multidisciplinary
team, a statement describing the future cooperation and vision for the involvement in the
BIO-TALENT team is essential. Another important factor will be the experience in teaching
and outreach activities. Due to the international character of the project the mobility of the
candidate will be taken into account during selection procedure.
All candidates will be informed about the results of this pre-selection step by 31 March 2015.
Step 2: the on-line interview of shortlisted candidates by the above mentioned team members
We will discuss the job qualifications, cooperation with IPG PAS research teams and vision of
own research in the Department of Integrative Plant Biology.
Step 3: the evaluation by the Committee for the Development of Researchers appointed by the
Scientific Board of the Institute*
* in the case of failure in undertaking the position in agreed time the Committee reserves the right to
choose another Candidate from the shortlist
Step 4: the opinion of the Scientific Board of IPG PAS;
Step 5: decision of the Director of IPG PAS;
the date of the announcement of the final results: 24 April 2015.
General information
The city of Poznan has 550 thous. inhabitants. It is one of the biggest cities in Poland, with a large
academic centre with numerous universities and research institutes. It is located 300 km westwards
from Warszawa (Warsaw), the capital of Poland, and 300 km eastwards from Berlin, the capital of
Germany. The city is visited by many foreigners participating in numerous fairs organized at the
Poznan International Fair Grounds, as well as students, researchers, businessmen, and tourists. The
city is friendly and safe. A great number of students makes it lively and full of various events. The city
is convenient to work in and to spend leisure time, due to its beautiful surroundings (Wielkopolski
National Park with its forests and lakes). Poznan is the capital of a large agricultural plain.
Poznan is one of the largest plant science centres in Poland with universities and numerous scientific
institutes and research centres hosting annually over 130 thous. students. The Institute of Plant
Genetics in Poznan has a strong tradition of research on theoretical and applied aspects of plant
biology. Our scientific activity encompasses wide array of scientific disciplines like cytogenetics,
metabolomics, molecular biology and bioinformatics. We are in the process of the formation of
interdisciplinary research group specialized in integrative plant biology. The main focus of the team is
to exploit knowledge from fundamental research in plant biology for development of innovative tools
and new strategies in sustainable crop production and protection. The newly created BIO-TALENT
team will explore the applicatory value of modification of basic developmental and physiological
mechanisms in order to obtain new useful agronomical traits including increased plant tolerance to
stress or suitable growth patterns and overall yield increase. The future work of the team will also
include modification of plant architecture and plant and organ size and shape for increase in biomass
production or improvement of agro-technical methods.
Location of the Institute
The Institute of Plant Genetics PAS is located at Strzeszynska 34, Poznan, POLAND. To learn more
about the Institute and its current departments please watch our promotion film:
http://tv.pionier.net.pl/Default.aspx?id=3012
and visit the website of the Institute: www.igr.poznan.pl/en/home
To read basic information on the rules and composition of the BIO-TALENT project please visit the
website: http://www.igr.poznan.pl/en/bio-talent, which contains information on objectives, strategy,
work packages, contacts and links to information about the project, announced in the mass media.
Contact addresses:
General address – biotalent@igr.poznan.pl
Robert Malinowski – the ERA Chair holder rmal@igr.poznan.pl
Malgorzata Jedryczka – the Project Coordinator mjed@igr.poznan.pl
Anna Stachowiak-Szrejbrowska – the Administrative Manager asta@igr.poznan.pl
Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Strzeszynska 34
60-479 Poznan
POLAND
Phone: +48-61-6550248 (Project Coordinator)
Fax: +48-61-6550301
Email: office@igr.poznan.pl
www.igr.poznan.pl