Overview

About the position:

Applications are invited for a 2–3-year research position in the research group of Prof. RNDr. Jiří Fajkus, CSc. to join the TowArds Next GENeration Crops (TANGENC) project, reg. number CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004581, in Programme Johannes Amos Comenius (Czech Republic – The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, co-funded by the European Union).

Prof. Fajkus is a leading authority on plant telomere biology (characterizing telomere chromatin structure and epigenetic control, telomere/telomerase components), DNA damage response in rDNA, and telomere stability.

The researcher will be primarily involved in research activities within Work Package No.5 – Editing (New breeding techniques for crop improvement). This WP aims to develop efficient transgene delivery techniques, including the optimization of plant material recovery and the regeneration of transgenic/mutant plants for selected crops, with a specific focus on barley.

For sensitive visualization of growth regulators’ signaling, barley reporter lines will be constructed to characterize barley mutant lines with disrupted stress-related genes. Moreover, a pipeline to study barley biotic and abiotic stress response genes (i.e., osmotic, ITPK1, ABC transporter, and WDC genes) will be developed. This WP will also support other WPs with genetic engineering and genome editing-based methods to help validate candidate gene function.

 

Requirements:

Strong expertise in at least one of the following specializations: A scientific background emphasizing molecular biology, genomics, or proteomics is required.
Good oral and written communication skills in English
Creative, practical lab experience
Independence, accountability, and reliability
Good communication and organizational skills
We offer:

Young, enthusiastic, and progressive scientific team
An attractive salary and benefits package (6 weeks of paid holiday, financial meal contribution, multisport card, and sports lessons directly at the campus, special employee bank products, kindergarten/pension scheme)
State-of-the-art instrumentation and facilities
Environment promoting interdisciplinarity in research
Background of a recognized and successful institution with a supportive and international working environment
Institutional support: further education and professional development, Welcome Office service, Grant Office service, CEITEC events, Postdoc Committee Association
Additional information:

Start date: 1 January 2026

Job type: part-time (0,1 FTE)

Duration: initial fixed-term contract for one year, with the possibility of extension up to five years

Application deadline: 30.11.2025