UTU-GreDiT doctoral position call opens 23.11.23
Interested in doing doctoral studies in Human Diversity? Here is a chance for you!
Solutions for Green and Digital Transition (UTU-GreDiT), led by University of Turku (UTU), Finland, is a unique COFUND doctoral training project that aims to train the experts required to deliver transformative change towards sustainable societies, with skills and knowledge to operate across sectors, at regional, national and international level. UTU-GreDiT is co-funded by European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action. UTU-GreDiT recruits 25 doctoral researchers focusing on Green and Digital Transition, providing these with an interdisciplinary and international training ecosystem, supported by a host of external partners and secondment options for 4-6 months’, to enable them to develop as experts able to bring about transformative change. The call for applications for the UTU-GreDiT doctoral researchers’ positions will be open from 23 November 2023 to 22 January 2024.
How to apply?
The call for applications and application instructions will be published in November 2023. Link to the electronic application will be available on 23 November, 2023 onwards. The applicant must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Finland for more than 12 months in 36 months immediately before the deadline of the application call (MSCA eligibility criteria). You can only apply one UTU-GreDiT PhD project. While waiting for the call to open you will find all the important information on eligibility and required documents at https://sites.utu.fi/utugredit/how-to-apply/. An online information event for applicants will be organized on 18 December at 15.00-16.00 (local time in Finland, note the new time!). Link to the event will be updated here soon.
The UTU-GreDiT study right begins 1 August 2024. A four-year (48 months) fixed-term full time employment contract by UTU is provided to UTU-GreDiT doctoral researchers.
These are the descriptions of the projects in association with Human Diversity research:
Project number 18: Human genomic changes due to past epidemics and environment in north-eastern Europe
| Background: | Past epidemics and environmental challenges, such as famines, have posed a long lasting pressure of natural selection on human genomes. The (genetic) structure of the human host community and its contact networks have affected pathogen exposure, and therefore the consequences on the human genomes. Genes related to immune response and metabolic pathways are among the key targets of selection under environmental pressures. Pleiotropic effects may produce co-occurrence with other traits, such as elevated risk for later life disorders (e.g Alzheimers). Finally, epigenomes may have been modulated with effects reaching beyond generations. |
| PhD project description: | In this project, we combine ancient and modern human DNA, pathogen genomics and life history trait data in Finnish context to examine the effects of past events on human genomes in the past versus present population. The project combines ancient genomic data covering the last 2,000 years with large modern genomic data collections. Moreover, archaeologically excavated soft tissue remains of individuals from the past four centuries may be analysed for exposures, to ascertain pathogen presence, and ultimately, to unravel the specific reasons for epidemic events taking place in the observed time and place. The information collected over the course of this study can be employed to estimate future risk factors for local and rapidly expanding epidemics, and to prevent the development of similar hotspots like those recognized from the historical time. This fully funded PhD project will be jointly supervised by Professor Päivi Onkamo and Title of Docent in Population Genetics Elina Salmela within the multidisciplinary Human Diversity consortium (https://sites.utu.fi/humandiversity/) and belongs to the UTU-GreDiT Doctoral Programme: Solutions for Green and Digital Transition and One Health perspective at the University of Turku. The position includes a 4-6 months secondment at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) Leipzig, Germany, that offers a strong quantitative base for research combining ancient DNA sequencing, population genomics, and historical epidemiology (https://www.eva.mpg.de/archaeogenetics/index/). |
| Specific requirements: | The PhD candidate should have a multidisciplinary background and Masters degree in population genetics, bioinformatics, evolutionary biology/medicine, microbial evolution or related fields. A successful candidate is a team player, has experience and interest to work with people and datasets from multiple disciplines, passion to learn new, strong quantitative skills in statistical genetics, and proficient English in writing and communication. |
| Secondment: | Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany |
| Dept./Faculty to which the thesis belongs | Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences. |
| Principal supervisor | Prof. Päivi Onkamo |
Project number 19: Evolution of human health in past and modern environments
| Background: | Human health stems partly from adaptations to diverse ancestral environments and the challenges posed by our rapidly changing modern world. Infectious diseases, in particular, have exerted significant selection pressures on human evolution, but the epidemics often affected some regions more than others. Also access to nature and microbes (e.g. forest cover, animal husbandry), resources (food scarcity, house type) and population structure (city/urban) vary through time and place and can fuel adaptations (e.g. immune responses) that enhance health in these environments. However, the impact of spatial disparities in disease outbreaks and environmental factors on both historical and current human health, including different disease susceptibilities (e.g. cardio-vascular diseases, cancers, cognitive disorders, auto-immune diseases), remains unknown. |
| PhD project description: | We are seeking for an enthusiastic and motivated PhD student with knowledge in evolutionary biology and health research, to investigate past and present variation in death causes in Finland. This PhD project draws upon extensive, multi-generational and multidisciplinary data from historical and modern Finland. The PhD project employs two distinct approaches: one focused on assessing regional disparities through time and the other on exploring family lineage-specific variation in death causes across generations in different environments. Together, these approaches offer valuable insights into the evolutionary origin of human health, shedding light on how our past environments have left their mark on our current disease susceptibilities. The PhD researcher will carry out research within the multidisciplinary Human Diversity consortium (https://sites.utu.fi/humandiversity/ ) and utilizes unique datasets from Finland: 1) the Human life history data. This is a multi-generational demographic dataset (e.g. all births, marriages, migrations, deaths) following the same family lineages from preindustrial to modern Finland (individuals born 1730-2022), 2) Cause-specific mortality data of entire Finland 1750-1850 and in contemporary day and 3) Cultural and environmental data, which includes ~100 cultural and environmental explanatory variables from each municipality in Finland. During the PhD project a 4-6 months secondment in the PandemiX Centre offers a strong quantitative base for research combining mathematical modelling, historical epidemiology, bioinformatics and clinical research (https://ruc.dk/en/research-centre/pandemix-center). The PhD researcher undertakes the following studies in the PhD thesis: 1) spatial variation in death causes across time 2) lineage-specific variation in death causes and 3) the variation caused by temporal, environmental and cultural characteristics or past epidemics. |
| Specific requirements: | The PhD candidate should have a multidisciplinary background and Masters degree in evolutionary ecology, evolutionary medicine/health/disease, health geography, anthropology or related fields. A successful candidate is a team player, has experience and interest to work with people and datasets from multiple disciplines, passion to learn new, strong quantitative skills in statistics, and proficient English in writing and communication. |
| Secondment: | PandemiX Centre, University of Roskilde, Denmark |
| Dept./Faculty to which the thesis belongs | Department of Biology/ Faculty of Science |
| Principal supervisor | Dr. Mirkka Lahdenperä |