The PhD candidate will work within the broader ‘Catching Marine Carbon: testing ocean solutions for climate mitigation using natural analogues’ project, which aims to develop a monitoring, reporting, and verification framework for marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technologies within Aotearoa.
About the position
The candidate’s role within the larger project is to develop methods to measure phytoplankton carbon allocation to track the fate of phytoplankton carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. The project builds on our group’s laboratory-based system, which uses dissolvable layers to release fluorescent dyes into algal samples, allowing microscopy and computer vision analysis of lipid and protein-associated signals in hundreds to thousands of individual cells.
The candidate's responsibilities will include:
- Development of dissolvable fluorescent sensing layers to measure neutral lipids, polar lipids, and protein-associated biomass in individual marine phytoplankton cells.
- Use of fluorescence microscopy and image analysis/computer vision to quantify cell-level signals.
- Contribution to laboratory culture experiments to understand changes in phytoplankton carbon allocation under nutrient/iron fertilisation.
- Interpretation of carbon allocation data in the context of mCDR monitoring, reporting, and verification.
Closing date: Review of applications will begin on 2026-08-07 and continue until the position is filled.
Starting date: Between October 2026 and January 2027
Profile and qualifications
Essential: the successful candidate will have
- A Master’s (MSc) and/or BSc (Hons) degree in chemistry (or a related field) before the starting date
- Strong laboratory and quantitative skills
- An interest in cross-disciplinary research
Desirable: fluorescence microscopy, Python/R/image analysis, culturing of microbial cells, and/or knowledge of the marine carbon system. Training will be provided in areas outside the candidate’s existing expertise.
We offer
- A fully funded 3-year PhD scholarship, which includes a tax-free stipend of NZ$35,000 per year and a full university tuition fee waiver.
- An interdisciplinary work environment within the Departments of Chemistry and Marine Science, and the ‘Centre for Oceanography’ partnership between University of Otago and Earth Sciences New Zealand.
- Access to chemistry and marine science laboratories.
- Opportunities to participate in sea-going expeditions, and to contribute to method-development publications, field/laboratory application papers, and conference presentations.
