Postdoctoral Research Associate – Ice Formation in Plants

The Biosciences Department at Durham University seeks to appoint a Postdoctoral Research Associate.

The main purpose of the role is to investigate the role of the cell wall in the plant response to freezing. The research project is an exciting opportunity to be part of a multidisciplinary team investigating how ice develops in plants under freezing conditions and the effect it has on plant survival.

The Postdoctoral Research Associate will work with the supervisory team to develop a novel imaging platform to allow visualisation of rapid ice growth in plant tissues. Also, you will develop methods to image ice on the macro and micro scales in combination with stress assays on wild type and mutant Arabidopsis plants.

This role involves working in conjunction with our collaborators at University of Warwick, who will be using (atomistic) classical molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the formation of ice through the plants cell wall.

During the role, you will be expected to perform whole plant infra-red thermal imaging, high-speed cryomicroscopy, mechanical measurements, plant freezing assays and routine molecular analysis of mutants.