Ralf Rabus

The University of Oldenburg is offering a postdoctoral research position in microalgal systems biology within the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), part of the School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The position is based in the General and Molecular Microbiology group led by Prof. Ralf Rabus. The researcher will join the Lower Saxony collaborative project Marine Algal Systems Biology (MAlSyB) , a consortium involving the Universities of Oldenburg, Hannover, Braunschweig, and Göttingen, together with the DSMZ in Braunschweig. MAlSyB investigates the globally distributed, bloom-forming marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cordatum , a unicellular model microalga notable for its distinctive cell biology, photosynthetic apparatus, and highly complex genome. The project integrates physiology, cell biology, systems biology, and evolution to understand how marine microalgae adapt to climate-driven environmental change. The researcher will investigate how changing nutrient regimes influence the physiological performance of P. cordatum . Key activities include tailored microalgal cultivation, analysis of cell biological dynamics using FIB/SEM, and examination of photosynthetic protein complexes through BN-PAGE coupled with mass spectrometry. Findings will be integrated with proteomic data concerning the respiratory apparatus and with systems-biology data generated across the MAlSyB consortium. The postdoctoral researcher will play an active and integrative role in a multidisciplinary marine research environment spanning microbiology, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematical modelling, proteomics, and environmental systems science.

The University of Oldenburg is offering a doctoral researcher position in microalgal systems biology within the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), based in the General and Molecular Microbiology group led by Prof. Dr. Ralf Rabus. The research is part of the Lower Saxony collaborative project Marine Algal Systems Biology (MAlSyB) , a joint initiative involving the Universities of Oldenburg, Hannover, Braunschweig, and Göttingen, together with the DSMZ in Braunschweig. The consortium studies the globally distributed, bloom-forming marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cordatum , a unicellular model microalga with distinctive cell-biological, photosynthetic, and genomic characteristics. The doctoral project focuses on how P. cordatum adapts to changing nutrient regimes. The researcher will conduct tailored cultivation experiments to quantify physiological performance and examine associated changes in organelle structure using focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM). The project also investigates dynamics in the soluble proteome through shotgun proteomics. Experimental findings will be integrated with systems-biology data generated across the MAlSyB consortium. The work combines physiology, cell biology, proteomics, image analysis, systems biology, and evolutionary perspectives to develop a mechanistic understanding of microalgal adaptation and changing physiological performance in the context of climate-driven environmental change. The position offers an interdisciplinary marine-science research environment spanning biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematical modelling, with collaboration across multiple research groups and partner institutions.