Career Postdoc Group Program 2025 at the Microcosm Earth Center, Marburg

Call: Early Career Postdoc Group Program 2025 at the Microcosm Earth Center, Marburg

The Microcosm Earth Center (MEC, https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/microcosm-earth) is a coope­ra­tion between the MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps-Universität Marburg with generous sup­port from the Max Planck Society and the State of Hesse.

The Early Career Postdoc Group program of the Microcosm Earth Center provides outstanding young scientists in the field of microbiology with the opportunity to start an independent research group direct­ly after completion of their dissertation, or in a very early stage of their postdoc careers.

The successful candidate will be supported as early career group leader in the Microcosm Earth Center for three years following her / his dissertation or first postdoc position (candidates should not have completed their dissertation more than two years ago). There is the possibility of an extension of the funding period by one additional year. The goal of the Early Career Postdoc Group program is to give the ambitious early career talent the chance to develop an independent line of research in which important scientific challenges in environmental, molecular, and synthetic microbiology are addressed and to apply for own external funding for the next career step as a full research group leader and PI in aca­de­mia.

Besides the own position (Collective Wage Agreement for the Public Service [TVöD E 13]) the successful candidate will receive funding for a doctoral researcher position as well as consumables and an equipped lab space. Full access to outstanding, modern, and comprehensive core facilities of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and the Philipps-Universität Marburg, including proteomics, metabolomics, high-resolution live-cell imaging, DNA synthesis and sequencing, robotics, structural biology, cryo-EM as well as greenhouses, will be provided. As part of the Microcosm Earth Center the successful candidate will also benefit from a highly dynamic and interactive research environment in Marburg based on the close collaboration of MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps-Universität Marburg and the shared Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO; http://www.synmikro.com). Moreover, career development of the candidate will be actively supported on site by a mentor from one of the participating institutions.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer and is striving to increase the proportion of women in areas where they are underrepresented. We therefore encourage female scientists to apply. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of employees with severe disabilities in its workforce. Applications from people with severe disabilities are desired.

Interested candidates are invited to send a written application consisting of a CV with publication list and a description of scientific activities and plans (three pages max.), two recommendation letters from PIs combined in one PDF file to ecg-mec@mpi-marburg.mpg.de by January 15, 2025.