PhD Positions

Research Field: Biological sciences » Biology

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions: PhD Positions

Application Deadline: 15 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Warsaw)

Country: Poland

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 40

Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2026

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?: No

Offer Description

Seed dormancy is a vital adaptive trait allowing seeds to ignore transiently favourable conditions, thereby optimising survival and plant fitness. Its tight regulation involves a complex interplay between genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors. Key among these are the DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1) gene and the abscisic acid (ABA) pathway. Our recent discoveries, published in Nature Communications, highlight non-coding RNAs as pivotal regulatory elements, yet their specific mechanisms of integration remain incompletely explored and, in fact, raised many interesting questions.

We demonstrated that MUSHER, expressed downstream of DOG1, enhances DOG1 expression by facilitating termination at the proximal poly (A) site via CPSF recruitment. Contrastingly, MUSHER binds the PIR1 promoter (an E3 ubiquitin ligase positively regulating the ABA signalling pathway), thereby mediating chromatin activation and Pol II recruitment, impacting the ABA response.

One promising avenue of research will be to understand how MUSHER coordinates seed dormancy by directly regulating DOG1and PIR1 in response to diverse environmental cues. This will include physiological, genetic, and molecular analyses combining CRISPR mutagenesis, transcriptomics, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and spatial genomics to resolve the functional consequences of MUSHER’s interactions.

Another focus will be to clarify the nuclear retention mechanisms of MUSHER and related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Our preliminary findings implicate that both factors contribute to anchoring MUSHER to chromatin, thereby enabling its regulatory activity. Through ChIP-seq and RNA-protein interaction assays, this work will define the requirements for chromatin association and their impact on lncRNA-mediated gene regulation.

Overall, these studies will provide the mechanistic insight into lncRNA-chromatin retention in plants, clarify the molecular logic of seed dormancy integration, and uncover the extent of lncRNA contribution to adaptive seed behaviour. The question to address during your PhD project may be: How do modifications at the 3' end of non-coding transcripts direct their localisation, and what effect do they have on seed function? Together, we will do our best to better understand the mechanisms underlying lncRNA-chromatin interactions.

Where to apply

Website: https://ibb.edu.pl/en/phd-studies/rekrutacja/

Requirements

Research Field: Biological sciences » Biology

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Holding a degree of Master of Science [Magister], Master of Engineering [Magister Inżynier], medical doctor or equivalent in the field of: exact sciences, natural sciences, medical sciences or related disciplines, granted by a Polish or foreign university; a person who does not possess the qualifications described above may take part in the competition, but must obtain the qualifications in question and provide the relevant documents before the start of the programme at the Doctoral School (i.e., 1st of March 2027). Education at the Doctoral School begins on 1st of March 2027.

Specific Requirements

Preferably, candidates have experience in seed biology and/or plant molecular biology, as well as Python coding.

Languages: ENGLISH

Level: Excellent

Research Field: Biological sciences

Additional Information

Benefits

1. Possibility of renting a room in the Institute's hotel for the first 3 months at a special price (depending on rooms’ availability);
2. Possibility to join a medical plan;
3. Basic dental treatment;
4. Research mini-grants for doctoral students (up to PLN 20000, a PhD student may apply for funds twice during his/her studies);
5. Conference Grants (each PhD student can use up to PLN 12,000 to attend conferences during his/her studies);
6. Surcharge for the multi sport card;
7. Support in obtaining a temporary residence card (+ Reimbursement of TRC application expenses);
8. Language courses (Polish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian… (the offer of courses may change);
9. Psychological care (up to 5 visits);
10. Subsidy for the purchase of eyeglasses (once every two years);
11. Free parking spot.

Selection process

The recruitment process consists of three stages:

a) selection of candidates by the Committee based on the alignment of the candidate’s competencies with the requirements specified in the recruitment program;

b) selection of candidates by the Committee based on their previous achievements and academic results presented in the submitted documents;

c) an interview conducted by the Committee including in particular:

• a presentation delivered by the candidate containing the outcomes of his/her research (a Master’s thesis or other research work carried out by the candidate); the presentation must not last longer than 10 minutes;

• questions asked by the members of the Committee related to the presented project, the methods used and interpretation of the results obtained;

• questions asked by the members of the Committee related to the proposed PhD programme described in the recruitment announcement;

• questions related to the candidate’s motivation for scientific work.

Stage One

• education in the subject areas listed in the application guidelines; (scoring scale: 0.0 – 2.0 points);

• experience in the subject areas listed in the recruitment program (scoring scale: 0.0 – 2.0 points);

• other competencies specified in the recruitment program (scoring scale: 0.0 – 1.0 points).

Stage Two

• results obtained during studies (scoring scale: 0.0 – 4.0 points)

• competencies specified in the recruitment programme (scoring scale: 0.0 – 3.0 points)

• co-authorship of a scientific publication (depending on the role in the publication) (scoring scale: 0.0 –1.0 point)

• other achievements, e.g., awards, active conference attendance, honourable mentions, scholarships, domestic and foreign internships, voluntary work, popularisation of science (scoring scale: 0.0 – 2.0 points)

Stage Three:

• the degree of understanding of one’s own work; the ability to interpret the results obtained; the understanding of the methods used, knowledge in the field related to the topic of the submitted work (a scale of the evaluation: 0 - 10 points);

• knowledge in the subject matter listed in the recruitment announcement (a scale of the evaluation: 0 - 10 points);

• form of presentation of the candidate’s results (a scale of the evaluation: 0 - 3 points).

Website for additional job details: https://ibb.edu.pl/en/phd-studies/rekrutacja/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics Polish Academy of Sciences

Country: Poland

State/Province: Masovian

City: Warsaw

Postal Code: 02-106

Street: Pawińskiego 5a

Contact

City: Warsaw

Website: https://ibb.edu.pl/en/phd-studies/rekrutacja/

Street: ul. Pawińskiego 5a

Postal Code: 02-106