Scholarships for students within NCN project

The competition aims to select two scholarship holders for research within the OPUS 29 project “Genetic Load and Adaptive Potential of the European Bison”. One scholarship is intended for a person who will develop and improve DNA isolation methods from museum specimens. Tasks include cataloguing samples, collecting additional material, DNA extraction in an ancient DNA laboratory, sequencing library preparation, and assessment of DNA preservation in different sample types. The second scholarship is intended for a person who will develop bioinformatic methods for estimating genetic load in European bison. Tasks include developing methods for estimating evolutionary conservation across the genome, ancestral state reconstruction, and assessing the effects of individual mutations.

Position: PhD Student / Student / Scholarship Holder

Number of positions: 2

Requirements:

• Student (Bachelor’s, Master’s) or PhD student in biology, bioinformatics, or biotechnology.

• Interest in the project research topic.

• Basic experience in wet laboratory work or in b evolutionary genomics.

• Knowledge of conservation genomics and museomics.

• Ability to work with scientific literature.

• Ability to present scientific results.

• Good command of English.

• Teamwork skills, independence, creativity, diligence, motivation, and commitment.

NCN Scheme: OPUS29

Scientific Panel: NZ

Application deadline: 15 September 2026, 23:59

Applications should be sent to: mateusz.konczal@amu.edu.pl mentioning:

Project Contract Number: UMO-2025/57/B/NZ8/01662

Project title: „Genetic load and adaptive potential in the European bison”

 Employment conditions:

The student/PhD student will receive a scholarship for 12 months with the possibility of extension. The scholarship will be paid monthly under an agreement between AMU and the scholarship holder.

Scholarship amount: PLN 2,500 gross per month.

Planned starting date: 1 October 2026.

Work will be carried out at the Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Required documents:

• Motivation letter.

• CV including scientific achievements and distinctions.

• Diplomas or certificates confirming education and degrees.

• Consent to the processing of personal data.

The competition will be concluded by 21 September 2026.

The committee reserves the right to contact selected candidates only.