Postdoctoral Research Associate on Distinguishing realistic environmental risks of nanoplastics by investigating fate and toxicology in real-world scenarios (RealRiskNano)

We seek a talented and highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the RealRiskNano project to carry out research on the formation of nanoplastic agglomerates/flocculates and the role of marine water-column microorganisms in this process. RealRiskNano is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under the Strategic Highlight Topic APR15. The project is led by Heriot-Watt University, and involves Plymouth University as collaborator. The post is for 2 years commencing in January 2016.

Contamination of marine environments by plastic debris is a visually obvious and undesirable consequence of dramatic increases in production and use of plastics in consumer products over the last 50 years. Pieces of plastic have been found in marine environments worldwide and the need to establish levels of contamination and consequences of plastic debris has become a high priority to inform policy. Nanoplastics are manufactured (primary particles) for use in products or form by fragmentation of larger pieces (secondary particles). Their abundance and persistence presents a chronic and increasing human-induced change of marine environments on a massive scale for which assessment of risk is an urgent priority. This project is focused on providing critical information to enhance the environmental risk assessment of nanoplastics, and is based on real-world exposure scenarios. Here, we will investigate interactions of nanoplastic particles with microorganisms present in natural seawater, the formation of microbial-nanoplastic agglomerates, and evaluate their properties and environmental effects. We will also investigate the association of toxic substances with microbial-nanoplastic agglomerates and how this influences the fate of nanoplastics in marine environments. We will conduct carefully controlled roller-bottle incubation experiments to assess conditions favouring microbial-nanoplastic agglomerates, and apply modern fluorescence in-situ hybridization techniques (e.g. CARD-FISH) and Illumina MiSeq technology to study the microorganisms involved in nanoplastic-agglomerate formation. The findings from this project will provide risk assessors with urgently needed information to evaluate the realistic risk that nanoplastics pose in marine ecosystems.
Further information about the project is available here (http://epaquatic.org/realrisknano/).

Required qualifications:
We are looking for highly motivated and independently working scientist. Applicants should have a strong background in marine microbial ecology, molecular biology and bioinformatics. Experience in the following areas/techniques is advantageous: molecular microbial community analyses, genomics, microscopy and fluorescence in-situ hybridisation. Proficiency in spoken and written English is mandatory.