Doctoral student in Biology (arthropod color and polarization vision) Full-time

Doctoral Student in Biology (Arthropod Color and Polarization Vision)

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world's top universities. The University has around 46,000 students and 8,500 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the human condition.

For your doctoral research, you will be a part of the Bok lab, which uses a wide range of techniques to study the evolution and ecology of vision in diverse invertebrates. Our lab is embedded within the Lund Vision Group, a highly collaborative cluster of eight labs, internationally recognized as one of the leading centers in comparative visual science in the world. With 35-40 academics at all education and career stages, our vision research stretches across the entire animal kingdom, from jellyfishes, insects, and crustaceans, to squids and vertebrates. Our specialty is the design and evolution of eyes, how eyes are adapted to different lifestyles and habitats, and how vision is used for navigation and for controlling behavior. Our techniques range from optics, electrophysiology, and theoretical modeling, to microscopy, molecular biology, and behavioral experiments. This thriving research environment offers broad support for doctoral education and research.

Being a doctoral student

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University. As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors. Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.

Subject and project description

Aims: The project aims to explore how color and polarization vision circuits are organized to support dynamic behaviors and reveal the principles that ensure these circuits are fast, efficient, and accurate. Mantis shrimp and water fleas both have advanced color and polarization vision to drive dynamic behaviors. These two arthropod species are chosen to represent two extremes in visual evolution. Mantis shrimp have nature's most elaborate array of color and polarization receptors, while water fleas possess a surprising degree of visual specialization despite their miniaturized eyes – which may be functionally analogous to early arthropod visual systems. The PhD will discover how their eye designs are influenced by environmental light fields, reveal how neural circuits are organized to interpret visual information, and characterize how their visual systems control behavior.

Work duties

You will primarily devote yourself to your doctoral education, which mainly consists of writing a doctoral thesis. You are expected to participate in a research project, doctoral courses, seminars, and conferences. In the research project, you will use advanced and cutting-edge neuroanatomical and behavioral techniques to explore the interplay of color and polarization receptors in the visual ecology of arthropods:

• Eyes: Micro-CT and goniometry will be used to map visual fields. TEM will be used to assess photoreceptor structure and polarization sensitivity. This information will be combined with existing data to create a full picture of specializations across the visual fields.
• Circuits: They will use multi-resolution imaging to reconstruct the color and polarization circuits across the entire eye at projectomic and connectomic resolutions.
• Behavior: Arenas with dynamically adjustable lighting will probe the contribution of environmental light fields on the behaviors of these animals.

In addition to studies, a maximum of 20% of working time may be spent on teaching and other departmental work. You are expected to gain pedagogical experience as lab instructors for undergraduate courses run by the Sensory Biology unit, and there are ample opportunities to gain experience in outreach and academic activities. You will be provided ample opportunities to present your work at local and international research conferences.

Qualifications

To be eligible for admission and employment as a doctoral student, you must fulfill the requirements below.

Admission requirements

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programs if the applicant:

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second cycle, or
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third-cycle studies in Biology if the applicant has completed an independent work (e.g., degree project) in a relevant subject comprising at least 30 higher education credits and have good oral and written proficiency in English. The special qualification may also have been obtained through other equivalent education, which is assessed on a case-by-case basis. In order to enable interdisciplinary initiatives and significant in-depth studies in certain areas, qualifications other than the applicant's subject-specific competence in Biology may be taken into account.

Additional requirements

In order to complete the doctoral program in question, the following are also required:

• Master's degree in biology/neurobiology or substantial equivalent knowledge acquired in some other way.
• Practical experience in neuroanatomical approaches – ideally EM-based connectomics work, including image annotation and analysis.
• Experience with animal behavioral experiments.
• Good ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems.
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Good ability to cooperate with colleagues and collaborators
• Very good knowledge of English, spoken and written

Selection criteria

The selection of eligible applicants will be made taking into account the ability to benefit from the training based on the following criteria:

• Knowledge and/or experience with animal vision, sensory biology, and neurobiology, and with the requirements and methods listed above.
• Experience in data processing, statistical computing, and scripting in Python, Matlab, and R, or equivalent.
• Demonstrate independence, collegiality, and enthusiasm.
• Passion for scientific communication and outreach.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave, and an advantageous occupational pension scheme.

About the employment

The employment is a fixed-term employment at full time, starting September 1st 2026 or as agreed. Third cycle studies at Faculty of Science consist of full-time studies for 4 years. In the case of teaching and other departmental duties, the employment is extended accordingly. Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.

Interviews will take place shortly after the last application day.

How to apply

The application should be written in English and you must attach to your application:

• CV and personal letter with a justification of why you are interested in the training place/employment and in what way the research project matches your interests and your educational background.
• Copies of issued study certificates and/or diplomas. These should prove your basic and special eligibility for the doctoral education subject and show that you have the subject knowledge required for the doctoral education project.
• Other information that you wish to refer to (copies of grades, information for references, letters of recommendation, etc.).

We welcome your application!