ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Dr Danuta Earnshaw Mossakowska, prof. UJ

ul. Gronostajowa 7A,

30-387 Cracow

• holding at least a doctoral degree;
• having relevant scientific achievements;
• taking active part in scientific life.

and expectations

1)         have a doctoral degree in molecular biology, plant biology or related discipline

2)         have strong experience in the following research:

i)          plant-microorganism interaction assay (fungi and bacteria infection assay in Arabidopsis)

ii)         plant cell biological analysis (e.g. cell fractionation, confocal microscope)

iii)         bioinformatics analysis (e.g. RNAseq data analysis, metagenome sequence data analysis)

3)         have good written and oral communication skills in English

4)         have a strong research publications list or awards – would be an advantage

5)         show a good level of independence, self-motivation, and reliability

6)         meet the requirements under the Regulations on awarding

funding for research tasks funded by the National Science Centre

in the scope of research projects, including:

1. obtained a PhD degree within 7 years before employment in the project. This period may be extended pursuant to the terms laid down in the Types of costs in research projects funded by the NCN.
2. obtained a doctoral degree in an entity other than Jagiellonian University or must have completed a continuous and evidenced post-doctoral fellowship of at least 10 months in another institution than the host institution for the project and in another country than the one in which they have been conferred their PhD degree.
3. Dr. Kenji Yamada was not a research supervisor or auxiliary supervisor of their PhD dissertation.

Project description:

Plants have developed sophisticated defence systems to adapt to changes happening in the environment. In the Brassicaceae plants, a series of sulfur-containing glucosides, namely glucosinolates, works as primary defence chemicals. Glucosinolates are a latent form of defensive chemicals, and they require β-glucosidases (BGLU) for their activation. BGLUs that release glucose from glucosinolates are called myrosinases. Recent findings indicate that the glucosinolate-myrosinase system is more complex, involving multiple components; we know there are at least two types of glucosinolates (aliphatic and indole glucosinolates) and three types of myrosinases (from myrosin cells, from ER body and peroxisome/mitochondrion BGLUs). How these different components interact to give the variety of host defence mechanisms is still unknown. The project aims to understand how Brassicaceae plants develop various levels of defence by analysing plant-microbe interaction in roots. Successful candidates will join the project team for four years and establish 1) cell biological analysis and 2) rhizosphere microbiome analysis to understand plant root-microorganism interaction. The related articles are follows,

Yamada, K., et al. (2020). Endoplasmic reticulum-derived bodies enable a single-cell chemical defense in Brassicaceae plants. Commun. Biol. 3, 21.

Basak, A.K. et al. (2022). Tryptophan specialized metabolism and ER body-resident myrosinases modulate root microbiota assembly. BioRxiv.

Key responsibilities include:

1. analyse the detailed molecular mechanism of the plant-microbe interaction.
2. test the effect of isolated microbes from the library stock that collaborators established.
3. analyse physiological and cell biological aspects of plants during microbial infection.

Candidate will present research works in laboratory meetings and institutional seminars and work collaboratively with other laboratory members as a team.

• stable employment based on an employment contract at the renowned university,
• cooperation with the interdisciplinary academic community represented by well-known scientists,
• scientific support as well as the possibility of qualifications improvement and professional development,
• access to research infrastructure,
• benefits in the form of i.a. Multisport card, sports activities, medical packages, group insurance,
• additional social benefits.

1. resume,
2. personal questionnaire filled in by the candidate,
3. copy of the master’s diploma or a doctoral diploma, if applicable,
4. information on the candidate’s scientific, teaching, and organisational achievements,
5. declaration of the candidate, confirming that the Jagiellonian University will be their primary place of work, should they be selected in the selection procedure,
6. statement under Article 113 of the Law on higher education and science,
7. statement on acknowledging and accepting the rules and regulations concerning intellectual property management and commercialisation in force at the Jagiellonian University.

Declaration forms (no. 5-7) and personal questionnaire template (no. 2) can be obtained at:  

https://cso.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/dokumkandyd

1. list of publications (along with the respective publishing houses and the number of pages), if any,
2. motivation letter
3. recommendation letter concerning the candidate’s predisposition to work as an academic teacher and research work, including the results of student surveys and evaluations, if the candidate was subject to such evaluation.

The selection procedure is conducted in accordance with The Policy of Open, Transparent and Merit-Based Recruitment Process at the Jagiellonian University