top of page

VACANCIES

Overview:

Detailed Information:

 

 

 

1)  Roundup of news from the XIX International congress in San Diego, California

2)  The Winter Meeting of the North-west European Section of the IUSSI - 12 December 2022

3) 2 023 International Pollinator Conference at Penn StateVacancies:

4)  2 Research Positions: Rescue and Social Wound Care behaviour in Ants, Würzburg, Germany

5)  Faculty positions: Caltech, USA

6)  3 Postdocs: Plant recognition of pollinator vibroacoustic signals, Turin, Italy

7)  Post-doctoral fellowship in FAPESP research project on Comparative Genomics of Stingless Bees at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

8)  Postdoctoral Fellow position to study the physiological and molecular bases of social behavior in bees, JerusalemInformation:

9)  FORMIS ant bibliography update, 2023

10) [Veterinary Sciences] - Topical Collection “One-Health Approach to Bee Health” - Paper invitation

11) Request for Monomorium samples

12) Next monthly seminar of the African IUSSI will be on Wednesday, September 28th, 8 am GMT/UTC

13) News of the IUSSI Archive

​

​

​

​

​

 


1) ROUNDUP OF NEWS FROM THE XIX INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

The international meeting took place in San Diego, California from 3-7 July 2022. You can find the web site for the meeting here: http://burkclients.com/IUSSI/meetings/2022/site/

THE 2022 HAMILTON AWARD
The fifth Hamilton Award was presented to Bert (Berthold K) Hölldobler at the XIX International Congress, in San Diego, USA in July 2022. The award consisted of an engraved ornament, and a monetary award of US$ 1000, which Bert donated to the North American section of the IUSSI, to be used for four $250 travel grants for young researchers. The award was collected by Jürgen Gadau on behalf of Bert, who could not attend the meeting, and Christina Kwapich read out an acceptance address written by Bert.

THE 2022 WEST-EBERHARD AWARD
The inaugural West-Eberhard Award was presented to Patrick Kennedy from the North-West European section of the IUSSI, in recognition of his resaerch on kin-selection in wasps. Patrick gave a talk entitled "Life advice for wasps" summarizing some of his work and career. The award consisted of an engraved ornament, and a monetary award of US$ 750.

NEW OFFICERS
The following new officers were elected at the general assembly meeting:

Secretary General: Mark Brown
President: Judith Korb

Other officers that have agreed to continue in their posts are Chris Star (Archivist) and David Nash (Webmaster), although David will also take up the post of assistant archivist, with the aim of taking over Chris' duties over the next few years, associated with the relocation of the archive to Copenhagen, Denmark, and its on-going digitialization. Chris's latest archivist's report can be downloaded here.

Many thanks to Madeleine Beekman for holding the Secretary General reins so effectively since 2014, and to Jennifer Fewell as the outgoing president, for arranging the San Diego meeting along with her very able team.

NEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF INSECTES SOCIAUX
After 4 years as editor-in-chief, Miriam Richards is stepping down, and will be succeeded by Madeleine Beekman.

Madeleine also writes:

I am in the process of taking over the reins from Miriam as Editor in Chief of Insectes Soc. I thought that now would also be the time to look around for social insects researchers interested in joining as Associate Editor. We are particularly looking for people with ant expertise, as many submissions are on ants. However, if there is someone who does not work on ants but is nevertheless interested in becoming an associate editor, then please do not hesitate to get into contact with me (madeleine.beekman@sydney.edu.au).

   With best regards, Madeleine
   Editor in Chief, Insectes Sociaux

FINANCIAL SUB-COMMITTEE
Mark Brown and Rachelle Adams stepped down from the committee, and have been succeeded by James Nieh and Simon Tierney. The remaining member of the sub-committee, Heike Feldhaar, remains in office.

THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
The XX (20th) international congress of the union will be hosted by the Central European section, and will be held in Freiburg, Germany in summer 2026. Judith Korb will spearhead the organization of the meeting, and will hence become the new president of the society (see above).


----------
2) THE WINTER MEETING OF THE NORTH-WEST EUROPEAN SECTION OF THE IUSSI - 12 DECEMBER 2022

The NW EU IUSSI Section invites you to attend our upcoming Winter Meeting on the 12th of December 2022 in London!

Dr Paul Eggleton has once again kindly agreed to host the meeting at the Natural History Museum, London. This meeting will be a one-day, hybrid event, and an outline of the programme is provided via the link. We will have the usual selection of excellent talks and posters and a limited number of slots for remote presentations.

Please use the link below to register for the event and to submit an optional abstract. The deadline for abstract submission is the 14th of October. Note you must provide your email to complete the form, which will send you a copy of your registration as confirmation. All information about the conference is provided via the link, but please let me know if something is missing or unclear.

Link to sign-up form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdvneez8KUlJi44fGGmFLaTn6iD_hL2Xpi5-wp5bSItOtAi1Q/viewform

  Chris

  Christopher Pull
  Section Secretary
  North-Western European IUSSI Section


----------
3) 2023 INTERNATIONAL POLLINATOR CONFERENCE AT PENN STATE

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the 2023 International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health and Policy, which will be held at Penn State from June 3-6 2023!  We have been sending information out to various listservs, but may have missed you.

You can find more information about the 2023 conference in this press release (https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/international-conference-pollinator-biology-health-policy-slated-2023/), or look over the material and list of confirmed speakers on the conference website (https://web.cvent.com/event/c21acf50-b587-4d7c-b0bc-55cbecd97098/summary).

The abstract submission deadline is September 15, 2022, and the early bird registration deadline is December 1, 2022. 

This conference was started in 2010 at Penn State, and is typically offered every three years.  The conference typically attracts over 200 individuals from more than 15 countries, and is highly integrative, spanning genomics to ecology to policy, and includes representatives from academic institutions, government organizations, industry, and non profit groups. 

This is a wonderful conference - it is large enough to cover a diversity of topics but small enough that you can create new collaborations  - I hope you might consider coming and/or sending people from your research groups!

Any questions, please let me know!  And please feel free to forward this information to others!

  Christina 

     Christina M. Grozinger
     Publius Vergilius Maro Professor, Department of Entomology
     Director, Center for Pollinator Research, Insect Biodiversity Center
     Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
     Pennsylvania State University
     http://grozingerlab.com/
     FRIAS Senior Fellow (2022-2024), University of Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies


----------
4) 2 RESEARCH POSITIONS: RESCUE AND SOCIAL WOUND CARE BEHAVIOUR IN ANTS, WÜRZBURG, GERMANY

Deadline for applications: 30 September 2022

Position Opening
The newly created Emmy Noether Group based at the Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III) of Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany, invites applications for two

Researcher Positions
The contracts will start on 1 January 2023 or as soon as possible thereafter. The positions are part time (0.65 FTE), and remuneration will be based on the Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der Länder (collective agreement for the public service of German federal states, TV-L). The contracts will be for a fixed term to end on 15 October 2025 and may be renewed on expiry.

Background
Open wounds pose a major health risk to individuals. Recent discoveries in ants showed that other members of the group do not only rescue injured individuals from danger, but also treat open wounds with antimicrobial compounds, thereby preventing an infection outbreak. These behaviours have until now only been described in one population of the termite-hunting ant species Megaponera analis (in Côte d’Ivoire). However, it seems to be absent in another population of the species in Mozambique where it hunts less pugnacious prey. In addition, preliminary results provide evidence for wound care towards injured individuals in another species, the army ant Eciton rapax in Ecuador. The aim of this Emmy Noether project is to better understand the evolutionary processes leading to rescue and social wound care behaviour and the behavioural adaptations that evolved with it. The advertised positions are therefore associated in particular with the following tasks:

Research will be focused on behaviour (quantifying how nestmates care for wounded individuals), ecology (how prey speciation and ecological niche affect injury rate and wound care adaptations), microbiology (what pathogens cause the infections and what compounds are used to inhibit bacterial growth) and chemical ecology (how do the injured and infected ants communicate their need for care).
One position will focus on researching wound care behaviours in other populations of Megaponera analis across Africa (Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique), the other will focus on the army ant genus Eciton in the neotropics (Costa Rica, Ecuador)
We are seeking two highly motivated employees with a strong interest and expertise in social insect behavioural ecology and evolution. The following qualifications are required:
Applicants should have an MSc or Diplom degree in ecology, behaviour or a related discipline as well as skills in several of the following areas: experimental field research (e.g. natural history and behavioural studies), use of statistical data analysis (preferably in R), and proficiency in scientific writing in English.
Experience in the tropics would be an asset. Physical fitness and very good English language skills are required.
The successful applicants will be expected to work in an interdisciplinary and international project with long periods of field work in Latin America or Africa.
The University of Würzburg is an equal opportunity employer. As such, we explicitly encourage applications from qualified women.Severely handicapped applicants will be given preferential consideration when equally qualified.

Please email your application as one single pdf file to Dr. Erik Frank at erik.frank@uni-wuerzburg.de. Applications should include a cover letter, a short summary of your research interests, a CV, complete certificates, and the names and email addresses of two potential referees.The closing date for applications is 30 September 2022.

Please do not send any original documents to us; only send photocopies. As we need to save costs, we will not be able to return your documents to you. They will be shredded shortly after a hiring decision has been made. If you enclose a postage-paid return envelope, we will return your application documents to you three months after a hiring decision has been made.


----------
5) FACULTY POSITIONS: CALTECH, USA

Application deadline: 1 November 2022

NB. Although not specifically aimed at social insect researchers, Joe Parker's beetle lab specializes in myrmecophilous interactions.

The Division of Biology and Biological Engineering (BBE) at Caltech is seeking new faculty in all areas of biological science and biological engineering, with particular interest in individuals who are pursuing research that would benefit from and add to the interdisciplinary environment of Caltech's BBE division and its linkages to other disciplines at Caltech.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to (alphabetically): biological engineering; cellular, developmental and regulatory biology; ecological and biosphere science and engineering; neural and behavioral biology; organismal and integrative biology; and virology, immunology and infectious disease.

Successful applicants are expected to develop innovative research programs and to be committed to high quality teaching. Preference will be given to candidates at the Assistant Professor level; however, well-qualified applicants at the associate or full professor level may also be considered.

The term of an initial untenured appointment is normally four years and is contingent upon completion of the Ph.D. degree. Reappointment beyond the initial term is contingent upon successful review conducted prior to the commencement of the fourth year.

Please submit on-line applications, and include a brief cover letter; curriculum vitae; relevant publications, a description of proposed research; and a statement of teaching interests. Applicants should also submit a diversity and inclusion statement that discusses past and/or anticipated contributions to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the areas of research and teaching.

Applicants should arrange to have 3-4 reference letters uploaded.

Applications must be submitted no later than 1 November, 2022.

https://applications.caltech.edu/jobs/bbe

  Joe Parker, Ph.D.
  California Institute of Technology
  Division of Biology and Biological Engineering
  1200 E. California Blvd.
  MC 216-76
  Pasadena, CA 91125
  Tel: +1 626 395 8729
 https://www.beetles.caltech.edu/


----------
6) 3 POSTDOCS: PLANT RECOGNITION OF POLLINATOR VIBROACOUSTIC SIGNALS, TURIN, ITALY

No deadline given, but apply soon

Prof. Francesca Barbero and Dr. Luca Casacci are recruiting three Postdoctoral Research Associates to participate in the Human Science Frontier Program project "Good vibes: how do plants recognize and respond to pollinator vibroacoustic signals?" involving the Dept. of Life Science and Systems Biology - University of Turin (Turin - Italy), Faculty of Engineering & IT - Centre for Audio, Acoustics and Vibration (Sydney – Australia; Prof. Sebastian Oberst) and the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (Valencia – Spain; Dr. Tomás Matus).

The selected candidates will be based at the Dept. of Life Science and Systems Biology in Turin (Italy) and will report directly to Prof. Francesca Barbero and Dr. Luca P. Casacci. Fieldwork will be performed primarily in Spain in the surroundings of Valencia.

We are searching for young researchers with Ph.D. in insect sciences, preferentially with skills in pollinator network assessment and/or Hymenoptera+Diptera identifications, and fieldwork experience. Willingness to travel and learn molecular biology/bioacoustics techniques are also encouraged.

Here is some more information about the project:
https://www.uv.es/institute-integrative-systems-biology-i2sysbio/en/news-1285990801509/Novetat.html?id 86250906106

These positions are renewable for up to three years. The work will start on March 2023, but preliminary (online) interviews should be held ASAP.

If you are interested, please send a short CV to francesca.barbero@unito.it and luca.casacci@unito.it

Feel free to contact us for more details.

  Francesca & Luca


----------
7) POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN FAPESP RESEARCH PROJECT ON COMPARATIVE GENOMICS OF STINGLESS BEES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

No deadline given

The project is being developed in the network of Bee Genetics laboratories situated at the Ribeirao Preto Campus of the University of Sao Paulo (USP) Using comparative genomics approaches, our aim is to understand life history strategies in stingless bees (Meliponini), which are the native highly social bees in the Neotropics.

The candidate should have experience in the use of programming languages (Python, R, Perl) and use of the operational system Linux, experience in the management of databases on servers, and knowledge on the use of bioinformatics tools for the de novo assembly of genomes, including the functional annotation of genes, as well as the analysis of transcriptome data. Experience in molecular biology methods is desirable.

This opportunity is open to candidates of any nationality. The selected candidate will receive a Post-Doctoral fellowship from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in the amount of R$ 8,479.20 monthly and a research contingency fund, equivalent to 10% of the annual value of the fellowship which should be spent in items directly related to the research activity.

Interested? Please contact Klaus Hartfelder (klaus@fmrp.usp.br)


----------
8) POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW POSITION TO STUDY THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR BASES OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN BEES, JERUSALEM

No deadline given

Responsibilities
We look for an outstanding and self-motivated postdoc to lead one of two multidisciplinary projects. The first project aims to test social regulation of circadian rhythms in bees, and how socially regulated circadian plasticity contributes to social organization and the evolution of sociality. We focus on two major systems: 1) Task-related plasticity in circadian system in which plasticity in the circadian clock contributes to division of labor among worker bees. 2) Social synchronization of circadian rhythms. Our recent studies show that substrate-borne vibrations and volatile odorant mediate social synchronization, and we now aim to identify the specific cues and underlying neuronal mechanisms. We have developed unique resources to study this complex system. These include a set of environmental chambers allowing us to carefully study circadian rhythms in bees that are freely foraging outside, circadian transcriptomes for bees performing various social tasks, and CRISPR/Cas9 DNA editing protocols for clock genes.

The second project aims to understand the influences of juvenile hormone on molecular processes related to protein biosynthesis and the life history trade-off between reproduction and maintenance. Experiments will be performed with honey bees and bumble bees and interpreted in the framework of the evolution of social complexity.

Qualifications:
• A PhD degree in Entomology, Zoology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology or related fields
• Relevant lab expertise in biochemistry, bioinformatics, or molecular biology techniques
• An excellent academic record
• Experience in organismal biology (e.g., animal behavior, neuroethology, or ecology) is advantageous.
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, ability to work in a team.

We offer a strong, international and interdisciplinary working environment with an open academic atmosphere. Location is the beautiful city of Jerusalem. The position can start immediately or later this summer.

For more details on our research, please see our website: http://guybloch.huji.ac.il/ or contact Prof. Guy Bloch at guy.bloch@mail.huji.ac.il


-----------
9) FORMIS ANT BIBLIOGRAPHY UPDATE, 2023

Dear all,

An updated 2023 version of the FORMIS ant bibliography is now available on Daniel Kjar’s webpage (http://bio2.elmira.edu).  While you are there, please check out his other interesting entomological and myrmecological links. 

FORMIS 2023 can also be downloaded on its USDA-ARS webpage (http://www.ars.usda.gov/saa/cmave/ifahi/formis).

FORMIS 2023 should work on most recent versions of EndNote.  If you run into problems, please email me with a description of your problem including your computer operating system and what version of EndNote you are using.

Sanford

  Sanford Porter
  2225 NW 36th Dr
  Gainesville, FL 32605
  352 246-8336 Cell
 sdporter22@gmail.com

For those of you unfamiliar with FORMIS, which is a truly great resources, and a long-term labour of love by Sanford and latterly Daniel Wojcik:
"FORMIS is a composite of several ant literature databases.  It contains citations for a large fraction of the world's ant literature (about 77,000 references).  FORMIS contains all known ant taxonomic literature (through 1996). It also contains comprehensive bibliographies of leaf-cutting ants, fire ants, and Russian wood ants. FORMIS also contains extensive ant literature before the 1970s. About 40% of citations contain abstracts."


-----------
10) [VETERINARY SCIENCES] - TOPICAL COLLECTION “ONE-HEALTH APPROACH TO BEE HEALTH” - PAPER INVITATION

Dear Colleagues,

The Topical Collection on "One-Health Approach to Bee Health" in the journal /Veterinary Sciences/ is being edited by Dr. Giovanni Cilia and Dr. Antonio Nanetti from CREA Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Italy. We believe you could make an excellent contribution by submitting a paper to this special issue.

More information of the special issue is available on https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vetsci/topical_collections/one_health_bee 

The submission deadline is 31 December 2022. If you are interested in submitting a paper, you may send your manuscript now or up until the deadline. You can submit your paper use the following link:

https://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=vetsci

Submitted papers should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. We also encourage authors to send a short abstract or tentative title to the Guest Editors and Editorial Office in advance (giovanni.cilia@crea.gov.itantonio.nanetti@crea.gov.it, cc vetsci@mdpi.com, cc jie.gu@mdpi.com).

/Veterinary Sciences/ is an international, peer-reviewed, quick-refereeing open access journal on veterinary sciences published online by MDPI. It publishes reviews, research papers and communications in all areas of veterinary sciences and at the interface of related disciplines. The journal is indexed by SCIE (IF 2.518), PubMed and Scopus (CiteScore: 2.6). For detailed information about the journal, you may refer to the journal website at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vetsci.

We appreciate your consideration and sincerely hope you will accept our invitation to contribute to this Special Issue.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

  Kind regards,

     Giovanni Cilia and Antonio Nanetti


----------
11) REQUEST FOR MONOMORIUM SAMPLES

Dear myrmecologists,

I'm Sachin Suresh, a 1st year Ph.D. student working in Tim Linksvayer's lab at Texas Tech University. Our lab studies the molecular and behavioral underpinnings of complex phenotypes in social organisms to understand how they evolve and function.
Recently, we have started a new study and hence require more colonies to better sample worldwide genetic variation. We would greatly appreciate if you could send us any colonies or colony fragments of  Monomorium pharaonis or other Monomorium species. We are especially interested in Monomorium species related to M. pharaonis. We are happy to cover any associated costs. Please contact us with any questions, and we will provide permit information.

Please send us colonies to the address below. We need live colony fragments with both workers and queens, but we are also interested in ethanol-preserved samples. Please also include all available collection information, such as collection date, site, habitat, collector name, species identity (if known), and any additional collection notes.

Shipping Address:
  Sachin Suresh
  Department of Biological Sciences
  Texas Tech University
  2901 Main St, Lubbock, TX 79409

Thank you very much in advance!

  Sincerely,
  Sachin Suresh
  Contact: sacsures@ttu.edu , t.linksvayer@ttu.edu


----------
12) NEXT MONTHLY SEMINAR OF THE AFRICAN IUSSI WILL BE ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 8 AM GMT/UTC

The rejuvenated African section of the IUSSI is keen to get more involved in world-wide social insect research, so have invited IUSSI members from the North-west European section to also participate in their on-line meetings. I hope they will not mind if I also extend this invitation to INSECTSmail subscribers.

--
Dear colleagues,

Eusocial greetings to you!

We are happy to announce that the next monthly seminar of the African IUSSI will be on Wednesday, September 28th, 8:00 am UTC.

The  speaker will be Dr. Robert Copeland (ICIPE, Kenya) speaking about 'A survey of microhymenopteran diversity'.

The seminar will take place via Zoom. Please follow the link:  https://bit.ly/3pQZqH8

Furthermore, we are always searching speakers for upcoming seminars. If you would like to give a seminar or if you would like to suggest a person for a seminar, please let us know.

Hope to 'see' many of you at the seminar!

  Many greetings,

     Peter, Ahmed & Nelly

--
Chers collègues,

Salutations eusociales à vous!

Nous sommes heureux de vous annoncer que la  prochain séminaire mensuel de l'IUSSI africain aura lieu le mercredi 28 septembre à 8h00 UTC.

L'orateur sera le  Dr. Robert Copeland (Université de Cape Coast, Ghana) qui parlera des  'A survey of microhymenopteran diversity'.

Le séminaire aura lieu via Zoom. Veuillez suivre le lien suivant: https://bit.ly/3pQZqH8

Par ailleurs, nous sommes toujours à la recherche d'intervenants pour les séminaires à venir. Si vous souhaitez donner un séminaire ou si vous souhaitez suggérer une personne pour un séminaire, faites-le nous savoir.

Nous espérons vous voir nombreux au séminaire !

Toutes nos salutations,

Peter, Ahmed & Nelly

This message and attachments are subject to a disclaimer.
Please refer to http://upnet.up.ac.za/services/it/documentation/docs/004167.pdf for full details.

 

bottom of page