Physics PhD Fellowship available on the Quantum Biology of Magnetoreception!

Experimental testing of the quantum theory of magnetoreception in an insect model, a biological magnetic sensor.

Project description:

The project aims to test one of the most prominent models in quantum biology, animal magnetoreception through the mechanism of entangled radical pairs. Experimental setups will be constructed to test honey bees, known to be sensitive to the geomagnetic field, in behavioural experiments and for the first time via in vivo brain imaging while exposed to magnetic stimuli. Neuronal responses will be linked to quantitative predictions from recent theoretical models. The project is financed by the Quantum Science and Technology in Trento initiative and is a collaboration between the Neurophysics group at the University of Trento, the CNR Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (IMEM), and the Quantum Biology and Computational Physics research group at the University of Oldenburg .

Candidate profile:

Required is a Master's degree in physics, engineering, biology, neuroscience, or similar fields and excellent English language skills of at least level B2.

Experience in any of the following techniques is of advantage: design and construction of experimental setups, fluorescence microscopy, data analysis and statistics, programming in Matlab/Python, handling insects.

Doctoral school:

The candidate will be enrolled in the PhD school of the Physics Department at the University of Trento

Application:

Contact albrecht.haase [at] unitn.it (subject: PhD%20fellowship) (us) as soon as possible for details on the application.

Deadline of the formal application: 05 September 2022

The project starts this autumn.