Our Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany is in the University Botanical Gardens and houses modern molecular and ecological labs, Herbarium with three million specimens, and a Botanical Garden with living plants representing 8,000 species. The Department's mission is to “increase the knowledge of plant diversity, the processes and patterns of plant evolution, the relationships between plants and other organisms and aspects of plant conservation.” The Department of Chemistry, in turn, has state-of-the-art instruments for screening plant metabolomes, computational facilities with databases of natural products, and structure elucidation software. The University of Zurich has a broad research coverage of organismal and molecular biology. The city of Zurich offers excellent quality of life and attractive surroundings for outdoor sports.

A PhD position in my group at the Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, is available starting 1st of August for a period of four years. The position is to study the drivers of human-plant interactions in Amazonia by linking ethnobotany and metabolomics.

I am looking for a highly motivated and creative candidate. A formal requirement is a Master degree in any field of biology. Proficiency in English, both orally and written is essential.

The position involves significant time conducting lab work in untargeted metabolomics. Ideally, you have demonstrable skills in (or strong interest to acquire) untargeted metabolomics, bioinformatics, GIS, and big data analysis.

I offer a collaborative environment with high-quality supervision and a vibrant international team. You will have the chance to collaborate with colleagues at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Indigenous People in Colombia and Ecuador, and Prof. Laurent Bigler at the Dept. of Chemistry of the University of Zurich.

Information on your application

Interested applicants should send me an email by June 20th, 2025 with the following:

1) 1-page motivation letter
2) 1-page essay, describing how you would link chemical traits to advance our group's
previous research, i.e., any publication at: https://rcamaraleret.com/publications.html
3) curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum)
4) e-mail of two academic referees

Please send all documents in a single pdf file.