I am seeking a PhD student to work on mathematical models in evolutionary biology within the call of the International Max Planck Research School for Evolutionary Biology.

The proposed projects focus on stochastic models of adaptation to environmental change. Beneficial alleles (gene variants) are often initially rare and likely to suffer stochastic loss despite their selective advantage. The establishment probability of beneficial alleles is a key component of the adaptive process. Branching process theory constitutes an elegant mathematical framework to determine establishment probabilities of beneficial alleles.

The proposed projects focus on rapid adaptation to environmental change that – without evolution – would drive the population extinct (“evolutionary rescue”). This is of relevance in an ecological context (with implications for conservation biology) but also in a medical context where we aim to prevent the evolution of drug resistance.

More information on the projects can be found here: www.evolbio.mpg.de/3031134/hildegardueckerproject

And more information about my research in general here: web.evolbio.mpg.de/stochdyn

The precise PhD project will be developed together with the student.

Informal inquiries should be sent to Hildegard Uecker uecker@evolbio.mpg.de.

For the formal application procedure, see www.evolbio.mpg.de/imprs. Application deadline is March 24.