hypothesis | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans

March of Dimes Foundation Research Grants, Australia: projects related to causes of prematurity

The March of Dimes seeks applications requesting grant support for Research & Global Programs projects related to causes of prematurity. Research proposals of new paradigms based on strong conceptual frameworks are invited. The intent is to provide new insights into the large, and increasing,proportion of preterm deliveries in which the cause (and thus the means of prevention) remains elusive. The proposals need to consider especially, but not be limited to, genetics, gene-environment interactions, and animal models. We encourage novel approaches. Applicants must be members of not-for-profit institutions. Potential applicants should submit electronically the required administrative information and a Letter of Intent addressed to the Senior Vice President for Research and Global Programs summarizing the proposed studies via our online system

The Letter of Intent must include the following information in this order:

1. Its objective.
2. Major hypothesis to be tested and key specific aims.
3. Any preliminary data.
4. A brief description of the study design including key outcome variables and the statistical framework that
will be applied to the analysis.
5. A plan for evaluating the results.
6. Projected time frame for the investigation.
7. Current financial support: list each current grant or contract for the conduct of this and any other research. If there are no other grants, state “NONE.”
8. If this is a request for a renewal of a current March of Dimes grant, it must include a summary of its progress.
The online process must be completed by April 15, 2011.

Please do not include References Cited with your Letter of Intent. These grants do not cover the recipient’s or other faculty salaries, but do provide salary support for technical help. The grants are awarded for a three-year period. For your information, the financial characteristics of the
previous year’s grant cycle.

Scholarship Application Deadline: April 15, 2011.

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PhD Scholarship in Aquatic Ecology, Sweden

The aim of the research project is to identify the barriers to dispersal in a microalgal species that forms blooms in freshwater lakes. This research has implications for the understanding of the dispersal of microalgae and microorganisms in general, as well as for predicting the occurrence of new algal blooms. The approach is to determine the importance of physical versus biological dispersal barriers by analyzing the genetic diversity patterns. The current hypothesis is that physical dispersal barriers are important for generating genetic differentiation. Instead, differentiation among microalgal populations might be explained by so called founder effects. Founder effects refer to the dominance of strains or species that arrive first to a new habitat. In laboratory and mesocosm experiments, priority effects and invasion sequence will be investigated in the algal species Gonyostomum semen. The position will be based at the unit of Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Lund University, in southern Sweden. The PhD project is a part of a larger project financed by Formas (The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning), and will involve collaboration with other PhD students and a group at Gothenburg University (Ass. Prof. Anna Godhe). The project is suitable for applicants who would like to combine ecology and population genetics with molecular biological tools. The practical work will include PCR-based techniques, analyses of population genetic data, algal culturing, and microscopy. Experimental work will be performed both in the laboratory and in the field. In addition, the PhD student will be able to join the Research School in Genomic Ecology (GENECO) in Lund. This program will give access to a network of other PhD students and researchers in genomic ecology, annual meetings, workshops, travel grants to visit other institutions, as well as a career mentor.

Eligibility/Entry Requirements
Requirements for this position are an MSc or comparable degree in ecology preferably with an aquatic and/or molecular ecological specialization. The successful candidate will have very good experience in molecular techniques. A driver’s license is required, as is very good knowledge of written and spoken English.

Scholarship Application Deadline: 6-2-2011

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PhD Studentship, Postdoctoral Fellowship and Junior Scientists Positions, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock

Applications will be reviewed as received. Work can start between February and October 2011.
Project description
James Vaupel’s review of the “Biodemography of Human Ageing” in Nature magazine last March was partially a review and partially a forum to advance a novel, path-breaking hypothesis. The hypothesis is that all humans, both today and in the past, share the same (or almost the same) “rate of aging”, i.e., rate of increase in the chance of death due to increasing deterioration with age (senescence). This is a controversial hypothesis. A research project to study this hypothesis is being launched. Pilot research was conducted in 2010 and the full project will be carried out in 2011-2015. The invariant rate of aging is denoted by the letter b and hence the project is also called the b-project and the researchers working on it are known as the b-team.

Application
Applications should be addressed to the Director, Prof. James W. Vaupel. Applications should include: (1) a CV, (2) a copy of relevant publications (if any), (3) a list of two or three persons, with email addresses, who can be contacted as references, and (4) a short statement of why you are interested in the rate of aging project and what aspects of it you are most interested in working on.

The Max Planck Society wishes to increase the share of women in areas where they are underrepresented, and strongly encourages women to apply. The Max Planck Society is committed to employing more handicapped individuals and especially encourages them to apply

Scholarship Application Deadline:
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