November 2022: new postdoc Madeleine Carruthers joins the lab
Madeleine Carruthers has joined our lab as a postdoc. She brings expertise in gene regulation, multi-OMICS, and evolutionary biology. Welcome!
October 2022: PhD position available on seasonal adaptation in Amazon butterflies – deadline 4 November
We have a three year PhD position available in the lab, to kick-start our new project on seasonal adaptation in butterflies in the Amazon in Peru. Please see here for more info and how to apply: https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbbs/postgraduate/phd-programmes/projects/display-title-986333-en.html
October 2022: new postdoc Océane Seudre joins the lab
Océane Seudre has joined our lab as a postdoc. She brings expertise in evo-devo, molecular biology and evolutionary biology. Welcome!
September 2022: technicians Courtney May and Katie James join the lab
Courtney May and Katie James are two technicians who have just joined the team and will be running the molecular lab and the Bicyclus rearing operation. Welcome!
Now recruiting two postdoc & two technician positions – deadline 31st July 2022 –UPDATE: deadline has now passed
More info here.
Apply here (postdocs), here (technician molecular biology) and here (technician evolutionary biology).
May 2022: The lab moves to Queen Mary University of London
Starting 31 May, we have joined Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, at the Department of Biology. We will soon advertise 1 PhD position and 2 postdoc positions.
September 2021: Fellowship funded for 7 year project on climate adaptation in African butterflies
Vicencio secured a £1.8M Future Leaders Fellowship, funded by UKRI. This 7 year project will employ 2-3 postdocs in the first 4 years, the first of which will be advertised early 2022. The project’s long-term aim is to improve predictions of species vulnerability to climate change, by mapping adaptive capacity for a given species across its range, and integrating this with climate and other data. We will use lab experiments and genomics to define adaptive capacity, in particular testing the role of plasticity, and we will use African Bicyclus butterflies as a model for seasonal plasticity. These data will then integrated with ecological and climate data to inform predictive models. See also https://twitter.com/mariposaatcccgc/status/1435564359019814912
July 2021: Small grant for high quality de novo genome of Amazonian butterfly
We secured a small grant from the NERC Environmental Omics Facility as part of their NEOF de novo pilot competition. We will use this to construct a chromosome-level genome assembly of Panacea prola, a seasonally migratory rainforest butterfly which we are studying in Peru in collabotation with Alliance for a Sustainable Amazon.
March 2021: new PhD student
Many congratulations to Raghavendra Kudinalli! He has received and accepted an offer from the University of Liverpool to start his PhD program with us. Starting in October 2021, he will investigate development, genomics and evolution of plasticity in Bicyclus butterfly species. This project is funded by the BBSRC as part of the Newcaste-Liverpool-Durham DTP programme.
December 2020: New PhD student position available, application deadline 22 January
The project studies developmental and gene regulatory networks underlying plastic responses, using both lab experiments and genomic analyses. The position is funded for 4 years, is open to international and UK students. It is part of BBSRC’s NLD DTP programme, a collaboration between the universities of Liverpool, Durham and Newcastle. Co-supervisors are Dr. Miguel de Lucas (Durham University) and Prof. Ilik Saccheri (University of Liverpool). Please get in touch informally (oostra[at]liverpool.ac.uk or @mariposaatcccgc) if you’re interested, and apply here: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/architecture-and-evolution-of-gene-regulatory-networks-underlying-environmental-responses-in-butterflies/?p127799
October 2020: New PhD student position available, application deadline 15 January
The project investigates how African Bicyclus butterflies have repeatedly adapted to seasonal habitats. The position is funded for 3.5 years, and is part of NERC’s ACCE DTP programme. Please get in touch informally (oostra[at]liverpool.ac.uk or @mariposaatcccgc) if you’re interested, and apply here: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/development-evolution-and-genomics-of-seasonal-plasticity-in-african-butterflies/?p124493
See here for more details about the project.
May 2020: British Ecological Society grant to study seasonal migration in Amazon butterflies
We secured a small grant from the British Ecological Society to kick-start our collaboration with Alliance for a Sustainable Amazon in Peru. We will use population genomics to study diversity and demography in a seasonally migratory rainforest butterfly.
December 2019: Small sequencing grant for comparative genomics in Bicyclus
We secured a small grant from the University of Liverpool’s Technology Directorate Voucher Scheme, which we will use to generate population resequencing data for several Bicyclus species.
November 2019: Two PhD student positions available, application deadline 8 January
Two NERC-funded PhD studentships are now available, open to EU/UK students. Both positions are funded for three years, and part of NERC’s ACCE DTP programme.
PhD project “Does phenotypic plasticity help or hinder rapid adaptation”, supervised by Dr. Stew Plaistow (University of Liverpool), Dr. Jane Hill (York University) and Dr. Vicencio Oostra (University of Liverpool).
PhD project “Genomic architecture of inbreeding depression in butterflies”, supervised by Prof. Ilik Saccheri and Dr. Vicencio Oostra (University of Liverpool).
Email me for any inquiries, and apply by email to iibapply@liverpool.ac.uk with your letter, CV and names of two referees by 8 January.
15 October 2019: Lab moved to Liverpool
I have established my new research group at the University of Liverpool!