PhD – Plant Metabolomics and Evolution – Czech Republic

Biology Centre CAS is seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate with a background in bioinformatics to join the research team investigating the global drivers of phytochemical diversity. This project aims to uncover how the remarkable diversity of plant metabolites relates to biotic and abiotic stress across the globe. As a model system, we focus on the Salicaceae family, which provides an exceptional opportunity to study phytochemical evolution thanks to its broad geographic distribution, ecological diversity, and well-characterized phylogeny.

Duties

• Analyse Salicaceae metabolomes using advanced metabolomics and bioinformatics;
• Develop bioinformatic pipelines integrating existing tools to acquire deeper insights into structural and functional chemical variation;
• Collaborate with team members to interpret chemical diversity within an evolutionary and ecological framework, including the inference of Salicaceae phylogeny;
• Contribute to joint analyses linking field-based ecological data with chemical and genomic datasets.

Requirements

• A MSc degree (a non-negotiable requirement for PhD program eligibility);
• A strong interest in plant ecology, evolution, and bioinformatics;
• Experience with metabolomics or phylogenomics (highly desirable);
• Experience in bioinformatic data manipulation and workflow development (Bash essential, familiarity with Python or R highly desirable);
• Experience in biostatistics or data integration (advantageous);
• Fluent written and spoken English;
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment.

Benefits

• 5 weeks of paid holiday yearly, subsidized lunches in our own canteen
• Pension insurance contribution, support of leisure sport & cultural activities
• Full health insurance and social security, student benefits for PhD students
• Free Czech language classes, professional trainings and mentoring programme
• Concessionary services at the contractual operator and bank
• Campus-based daycare for employees’ children from the age of 1 year
• Welcome service and further support for foreigners (HR Award)
• English speaking, friendly & stimulating international working environment
• Work-life balance in a middle-sized university city offering options for various activities
• Working in a stable, prestigious research institution of international importance.

Organisation/Company – Biology Centre CAS.

Field of research – Biological sciences » Biology.

Research profile – First Stage Researcher (R1).

Country – Czech Republic.

Application deadline – 10 Dec 2025 – 23:59 (Europe/Prague).

More information: Euraxess