[bcn_evodevo] PhD position in theoretical Evo-devo Helsinki-Barcelona

Dear Colleages, If you know of anybody who may be interested in that position lead him/she know Thanks, Isaac Salazar-Ciudad University of Helsinki, Institute of Biotechnology: PhD position in Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology and Systems Biology We are looking for a student, preferably a biologists, to start a grant for a PhD on the interrelationship between the evolution of gene networks, development and the phenotype: - Simulation of the evolution of the genotype-phenotype map of complex organs based on development. or/and - Quantitative study of the patterns of phenotypic variation across ontogeny and phylogeny or/and - Computational models of pattern formation and morphogenesis in animal development One of the current challenges of evolutionary biology is to understand how genetic variation leads to specific morphological variation (the genotype-phenotype map) and how that process affects the direction of morphological change in evolution. Our group is devoted to address this question by using gene network models. Programming skills or a willingness to acquire them is required. The project involves spending some time with collaborators in Barcelona and close collaboration with Jukka Jernvall's group (http://www.biocenter.helsinki.fi/bi/evodevo/index.shtml). The exact topic of the theses would be discussed in detail during interview. of morphological variation. Nature. 2010 Mar 25;464(7288):583-6. The University of Helsinki is a public University that has regularly been ranked among Europe's 10 to 15 best universities on worldwide ranking lists of research universities. Some 470 doctorates are completed annually and nearly 10,000 scientific articles or monographs are published yearly by the university's researchers.