Opportunity for African Environmental Leaders to Examine Land-Use History, Science, and Policy
2009 Watson International Scholars of the Environment
1 September - 18 December 2009
The Watson International Scholars of the Environment program brings mid-career environmental leaders from universities, governments, and nongovernmental organizations throughout Africa to Brown University for advanced training in land-change history, sciences, and policies, providing them with the context to enhance the sustainable development capacity in their countries.
The opportunity offers an intensive program in sustainable land-use studies to provide mastery of critical concepts, relevant tools, and transferable processes necessary for managing land and ecosystems. Supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation and endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the program offers scholars time away from their daily responsibilities to learn new skills with a community of scholars applying both theoretical and practice approaches to real world environmental issues.
Full time for three and a half months, participants are involved in courses, workshops, field trips, symposia, mentorship, professional networking, and research projects. The Watson International Scholars of the Environment are active participants, not passive students. All participants will take part in a foundational seminar on African environmental history. Module units focus on land-use science and policy. Drawing on the resources of Brown University, participants will prepare a study on land-use change and policy responses. Participants will integrate data from across disciplines and discuss how their research can inform sound decision-making.
Investment in these leaders is strategic: participants are men and women capable of creating lasting and immediately favorable impacts on the sustainable development of their home institutions, eco-regions, and nations. Accordingly, participants are expected to be at a mid-point within their careers in environmental management, science, and policy fields. The program seeks individuals who want to forge new linkages among ideas and issues, to develop networks among leaders facing similar land-use issues, and to explore alliances with relevant colleagues and institutions for improved personal and institutional effectiveness.
For more information, please visit the official announcement:
http://www.watsoninstitute.org/ge/watson_scholars/
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United Kingdom - 2009 University of Exeter PhD Studentship in Bioinformatics of Next Generation Sequencing Approaches
Bioinformatics of next generation sequencing approaches: using 454 and Solexa data to look at insect genomes and transcriptomes
Primary supervisor: Prof Richard ffrench-Constant (Cornwall Campus)
Deadline for applications: 13 March 2009
Project summary:
This PhD will provide training in state of the art bioinformatics both at the genomic and transcriptomic level. It takes advantage of a) the large amount of non-model insect 454 sequence data generated by our laboratory,
b) our participation in the Heliconius Genome Project (3 species being sequenced at Baylor College of Medicine),
c) our ongoing collaboration with the Sanger Center with BAC mapping and DNA sequencing and, most importantly,
d) our initiation of collaborations with ecology and evolution groups in Cornwall.
The project aims to fill the ‘gap’ generated by the purchase of the Illumina sequencer by our department and the analysis of the ‘pump priming’ projects from non-molecular biologists at both Tremough and Streatham Campuses of the University of Exeter. The student will receive training in the assembly and analysis of large next-generation sequence data sets of both the genome (e.g. Heliconius) and the transcriptome.
The student will learn how to annotate ESTs and genomic DNA and to mine the data for items of interest to ‘non-molecular’ biologists e.g. SNPs and micro-satellite markers. Students with a computing background will be involved in creating state-of-the art software to analyse -omic data derived from non-model species.
The exact nature of the project will be decided with the candidate. For example, SNPs will be used to look for gene flow between the different islands of the Scillies to test if gene flow relates to the standing differences seen in eye spot variation between islands in the Meadow Brown (with Dr Hosken). SNPs will also be used to look for gene flow and dispersal between the different populations of the endangered Marsh Fritillary in the South West (with Dr Hodgson). Candidates with a Computer Science background wishing to learn about biology, evolution and comparative genomics are especially invited to apply.
For informal enquiries contact: Prof Richard ffrench-Constant R.Ffrench-Constant@exeter.ac.uk
Application criteria: Applicants should possess at least a 2:1 Honours degree, or equivalent, in an appropriate subject experience with bioinformatics, computing and/or molecular biology desired.
2009 Watson International Scholars of the Environment
