Postgraduate position in neuroethology and genomics of coral reef fish

 The Schunter lab is supporting application to well-funded Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowships or HKU presidential fellowships. Through these schemes, interested candidates can apply for a Ph.D. position in Molecular Neuroethology in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong (https://www.hku.hk/). The University is a long-standing English-speaking institution and ranks as one of the top Universities in Asia.
 
We are looking for a curious, ambitious and enthusiastic Ph.D. student to take part in a diverse team, working on molecular mechanisms and adaptation to changing environments. Research topics span from neuronal to molecular to behavioural levels (www.schunterlab.com) providing a comprehensive approach to understanding how organisms respond to their environment. The lab is associated with the Swire Institute of Marine Science, also known as SWIMS (http://www.swims.hku.hk/), a beautiful research station in a remote area of the Island of Hong Kong.

The lab combines several disciplines ranging from marine biology, behaviour, ecology, molecular biology, neurobiology to computational biology and prospective students should be interested in working in a cross-disciplinary environment. Generally, projects start with fieldwork or aquarium experiments with measurements of behaviour followed by molecular lab work to extract molecules of interest (e.g. DNA, RNA or proteins) and/or imaging techniques. Most projects also require large bioinformatic analyses and writeup into scientific articles. The lab maintains long-standing international collaborations and travel is likely to be required.
Additional requirements:
• Willingness to work in a highly international and collaborative environment
• If no previous experience, the student must be eager to learn bioinformatics
• Willingness to work in aquarium systems and/or fieldwork in a marine environment.
Hong Kong Ph.D. fellowships (HK$28,400 monthly plus travel allowance and research funds) are competitive and require high GPAs but come with a range of benefits. You can find more information about these fellowships here: https://gradsch.hku.hk/prospective_students/fees_scholarships_and_financial_support/hong_kong_phd_fellowship_scheme
The application deadline is the 1st of December. Information about the Ph.D. programme, in general, can be found here https://www.gradsch.hku.hk/gradsch/

Interested candidates should send their CV, a cover letter summarizing research
interests and contact information for two references to Dr. Celia Schunter (schunter@hku.hk) no later than the 1st of November to account for enough time to write a proposal for the application deadline.