Dear All,
Please see
two microbiology position advertisements for the Advanced
Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC) at the University of Queensland,
Australia. The
postdoctoral researcher position has not been filled
despite the closing date having passed - thus it is still available.
Could you please pass these onto anyone you think might be interested
and appropriate - I can be contacted regarding either of them.
We are keen to appoint high quality candidates for these positions.
They would join a strong, large team of environmental scientists and
engineers. Our research is moving more into functional/applied/ physiological microbiology having developed good skills in FISH,
cloning and community structure analysis. We are also involved in
metagenomic research on bioprocessing in collaboration with Phil
Hugenholtz and Trina McMahon. The AWMC has been very successful in
attracting high budget national competitive grants and international
competitive grants. Our molecular biology laboratory is very well
equipped. Our process engineering laboratories are also exceptionally
well equipped with the capacity to carry out bioprocess experiments
on more than 20 sequencing batch reactors. We also have extensive
chemical analytical facilities including microsensors, GCs, HPLCs and
much more. The research at AWMC fosters close collaboration between
microbiologists, process engineers and modelers.
See below for some relevant publications from the group:-
Linda Louise Blackall - Professor of Microbiology
Advanced Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC),
http://www.awmc.uq.edu.au
Room 420,
4th floor Gehrmann Building (Bld No. 60)
The University of Queensland,
St. Lucia, 4072,
Queensland,
AUSTRALIA
Email:
blackall@awmc.uq.edu.au
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Level A)
Advanced Wastewater Management Centre, The University of Queensland
Position Description
A Postdoctoral Research Fellow is sought by the Advanced Wastewater Management Centre (AWMC) at The University of Queensland to initially work on the research project “Biological Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal from High-Strength Wastewaters” funded by the Environmental Biotechnology CRC. The project is being undertaken jointly by the University of Queensland and Murdoch University. A brief summary of the project is given below:]
The project aims to optimise biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal from high-strength wastewater through novel process design and operation. We will develop and demonstrate highly commercialisable operational strategies through integrated lab- and full-scale experiments employing advanced microbial and engineering tools. The technology will enable the producers of high-strength wastewaters to meet the ever more stringent nutrient discharge standards with considerably lower costs through improved reliability, efficiency and economy of their existing systems.
The Fellow will work in a team consisting of the project chief investigators, other postdoctoral research fellows and a number of postgraduate students. Responsibilities of the position include participating in the design and undertaking of lab and field experiments, developing and applying innovative molecular microbial methods to several questions, and assisting the chief investigators to manage the project on a day-to-day basis.
The Fellow is required to have a PhD degree in the area of molecular microbial ecology or a closely related area with extensive experience in the analysis of complex environmental microbial ecosystems. Essential skills include extraction and analysis of nucleic acids from complex microbial communities, bioinformatics, in situ structural and functional analysis experience in procedures like fluorescence in situ hybridisation, stable isotope probing, microautoradiography, and microsensors. The Fellow is also expected to have a background in microbial physiology and excellent interpersonal and management skills.
The position is available for 3 years on a starting salary of $55,544.26 pa plus employer superannuation contribution of 17% of salary.
If interested in this position, please contact Ms Wendy Mahon, Centre Administrator (e-mail
w.mahon@awmc.uq.edu.au or fax +61 7 3365 4726) for further information. Applications should be submitted either electronically or to AWMC, The University of Queensland 4072, Australia. Deadline for applications is 5 December 2005.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
Job Title:
Research Academic Functional Microbiology
Organisation Unit:
Advanced Wastewater Management Centre
Reference Number:
TBA
Type of Employment:
Fixed Term for three years
Classification:
Research Academic Level B or C or D
Remuneration:
Gross salary package between $73,431 and $119,326 per annum depending on Level of appointment
This salary package consists of:
Base annual salary range from $62,762 to $74,530 (Level B);
$76,884 to $88,651 (Level C); or $92,574 to $101,988 (Level D)
plus employer superannuation of 17% of salary; and other cash benefits, such as allowances or loadings.
An employee superannuation contribution of 7% of salary is mandatory. This may be salary sacrificed from pre-tax earnings.
Closing Date: 13 Feb 2006
Further Information: Prof. Jurg Keller, Director, AWMC, 07-3365 4727 or email
j.keller@awmc.uq.edu.au
Advanced Wastewater Management Centre publications relevant to microbiology (2004-2006). As at 27 January, 2006.
2006
Meyer, R.L., Saunders, A.M. & Blackall, L.L. (2006). Putative glycogen-accumulating organisms belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria identified through rRNA-based stable isotope probing. Microbiology. 152, 419–429
2005
Ginige, M.P., Keller, J. & Blackall, L.L. (2005). Investigation of an acetate-fed denitrifying microbial community by stable isotope probing, full-cycle rRNA analysis, and fluorescent in situ hybridization-microautoradiography. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 71 (12), 8683–8691.
McSweeney, C.S., Blackall, L.L., Collins, E., Conlan, L.L., Webb, R.I., Denman, S.E. & Krause, D.O. (2005). Enrichment, isolation and characterisation of ruminal bacteria that degrade non-protein amino acids from the tropical legume Acacia angustissima. Animal Feed Science & Technology. 121 191-204.
O’Sullivan, C.A., Burrell, P.C., Clarke, W.P. & Blackall, L.L. (2005). Structure of a cellulose degrading bacterial community during anaerobic digestion. Biotechnology & Bioengineering. 92 (7) 871-878.
Song, H., Clarke, W.P. & Blackall, L.L. (2005). Concurrent microscopic observations and activity measurements of cellulose hydrolyzing and methanogenic populations during the batch anaerobic digestion of crystalline cellulose. Biotechnology & Bioengineering. 91 (3) 369-378.
Meyer, R.L., Zeng, R., Giugliano, V. & Blackall, L.L. (2005). Challenges for simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal in microbial aggregates: Mass transfer limitation and nitrous oxide production. FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 52 (3). 329-338.
Oehmen, A., Yuan, Z., Blackall, L.L. & Keller, J. (2005). Comparison of acetate and propionate uptake by polyphosphate accumulating organisms and glycogen accumulating organisms. Biotechnology & Bioengineering. 91 (2) 162-168.
Siyambalapitiya, N & Blackall, L.L. (2005). Discrepancies in the widely applied GAM42a fluorescence in situ hybridisation probe for Gammaproteobacteria. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 242, 367-373.
2004
Jones, R.J., Bowyer, J., Hoegh‑Guldberg, O. & Blackall, L.L. (2004). Coral bleaching, coral disease and the links to water temperature: epizootiology of the atramentous necrosis epizootic on the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 281, 63-77.
