SD-25098 – POSTDOC ON PHYSICS-BASED MODELLING OF WATER AND SOLUTE TRANSPORT IN PINE NEEDLES

The Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) is a Research and Technology Organization (RTO) active in the fields of materials, environment and IT. By generating relevant scientific knowledge and converting knowledge into technologies, smart data and tools, LIST empowers citizens in their choices, public authorities in their decisions and businesses in their strategies.

Trees and particularly the conifers of northern hemisphere play crucial roles for the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle. However, a general understanding of fundamental C-fluxes between cells and tissues within plant organs is largely lacking. In an increasingly stressing environment, such science is needed for assessing the ability of different plants to maintain their cellular homeostasis.

In the framework of the interdisciplinary research project microC-flux (https://www.wsl.ch/en/projects/diel-c-fluxes-within-needles-from-conifer-trees), we use cutting edge technology to investigate the dynamics of freshly assimilated carbon and its transport from the assimilation sites in mesophyll of conifer needles, through the transfer tissues, to the phloem export sites and further, towards other tree organs. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, we combine pulse-chase tracer experiments with quantitative microscopical analysis and physics-based modelling to understand how conifers solve the challenge of solute transport against the flow of water through the needle, and what anatomical and functional features are key for resistance to drought.

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Your LIST benefits

• An organization with a passion for impact and strong RDI partnerships in Luxembourg and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects
• Sustainable by design, empowering our belief that we play an essential role in paving the way to a green society
• Innovative infrastructures and exceptional labs occupying more than 5,000 square metres, including innovations in all that we do
• An environment encouraging curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship in all areas
• Personalized learning programme to foster our staff’s soft and technical skills
• Multicultural and international work environment with more than 50 nationalities represented in our workforce
• Diverse and inclusive work environment empowering our people to fulfil their personal and professional ambitions
• Gender-friendly environment with multiple actions to attract, develop and retain women in science
• 32 days’ paid annual leave, 11 public holidays, 13-month salary, statutory health insurance
• Flexible working hours, home working policy and access to lunch vouchers

Temporary contract | 24 months | Belvaux Are you passionate about research? So are we! Come and join us

How will you contribute?

Building on the extensive experimental data gathered and processed by a doctoral candidate in the project, you will extend the existing open-source Model of Explicit Cross-section Hydraulic Anatomy (MECHA) to simulate water and solute transport in pine needles and explicitly represent starch pool dynamics in the 1) mesophyll, 2) the inner tissues within the vascular bundle and 3) the endodermis as the tissue at the interface between the vascular bundle and mesophyll. In its original version, MECHA simulates water and solute transport as a 3-dimensional process, differentiating between apoplastic and symplastic transport. Since MECHA was originally developed to simulate water and solute transport in roots, part of this task will be to introduce gaseous transport of water and CO2, and transitory starch pools. Model development will be performed in collaboration with the developers of MECHA at UC Louvain and plant ecophysiologists and anatomists at WSL, necessitating episodic visits to Louvain-la-Neuve and Switzerland. You will share the model code in the public domain and publish scientific papers in reputed journals on the insights gained through the model-assisted hypothesis testing performed in the microC-flux project.

Is Your profile described below? Are you our future colleague? Apply now!

Education

• You hold a PhD in Biology, Environmental Science, or a related discipline

Experience and skills

• You have a strong interest for plants and Physics. A background in plant ecophysiology would be ideal, but is not required.
• You have programming experience, knowledge of Python and Git is a plus.
• You have a proven ability to write high-quality scientific papers.
• You like working in a team, explaining and presenting research ideas and results.

Language skills

• Very good level of written and spoken English.