"UCD Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1"

Applications are invited for a temporary post of a Post-doctoral Research Fellow Level 1 within UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science.

Postdoctoral Researcher in Evolutionary Genomics of Heat Stress Adaptation.

Heat stress is a major driver of mass mortalities under anthropogenic global warming. Yet, its role in evolutionary rescue remains largely unexplored. This project will investigate whether early-life heat stress induces lasting genomic change across three distinct aquatic ectotherms: the marine ragworm (Hediste diversicolor), the starry-night reed frog (Heterixalus alboguttatus), and zebrafish (Danio rerio). We aim to determine whether heat stress exposure affects mutation rates by activating noncoding genomic elements, thereby accelerating evolutionary processes.

We will use whole-genome sequencing and transcriptomics under early-life heat stress for H. alboguttatus, followed by comprehensive annotation of noncoding elements across its genome and integration with existing datasets from other frog species, zebrafish, and the marine ragworm. This comparative approach will allow us to contrast short-term stress responses with long-term evolutionary adaptation across related and unrelated species.

The project will primarily involve bioinformatic analysis of large-scale genomic datasets, with opportunities for complementary laboratory-based experimental work for interested researchers.

Closing date: 12:00 noon (local Irish time) on 15/10/2025.