PhD position to study epigenomic diversity and altitude adaptation in Arabis alpina

The Plant Ecological Genetics (PEG) group at the Institute of Integrative Biology, led by Prof. Alex Widmer, studies plant ecology, genetics and evolution to investigate biodiversity of plants and fungi. The group consists of several research teams that work on diverse topics such as altitude adaptation genomics, plant physiology, herbariomics of historical plant specimens, as well as genetic diversity monitoring in various plant and fungal species. All of these teams closely interact on a regular basis, and also engage in collaborative projects and field experiments.

From August 2026, Dr. Thanvi Srikant will join the group as an Ambizione Fellow (grant awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation) to begin her independent research team ("Epigenome Diversity lab") in the PEG group. She will study epigenomic signatures associated with high-altitude adaptation in the alpine plant Arabis alpina, and is looking for a motivated PhD student to join her team.

High altitudes are generally associated with reduced atmospheric pressure, reduced temperature, increased radiation and extended periods of snow coverage. How do plants growing at these altitudes adapt to such environmental conditions?

Epigenome features such as DNA methylation and chromatin modifications can strongly influence gene expression in the absence of genetic changes, giving sessile plants the flexibility to cope with changing environments. Studying epigenomic landscapes across and within plant species can therefore tell us how plants fine-tune gene regulation and adapt to their local habitats.

The Epigenome Diversity lab will study the alpine plant Arabis alpina which grows in diverse ecological niches and altitudes (from 500 metres up to 2900 metres above sea level). Incidentally, this plant species is also abundantly found in the Swiss Alps. The lab's research will focus on :

• Characterizing genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic variation in natural populations of Arabis alpina from varying altitudes
• Investigating whether epigenome features are associated with local environments
• Investigating whether epigenome features can be stable across various growth environments and across generations

To know more about epigenomes, Arabis alpina and Thanvi's academic background, see the Epigenome Diversity Lab website.

Job description

Profile

The technical skills that the student will develop for the PhD project include:

• Field sampling and plant propagation in the greenhouse
• Molecular biology experiments and sequencing library preparation
• Analysing sequencing datasets with bioinformatic tools (central part of the project)

Additionally, the student will also be guided to develop:

• Independence in project development
• Critical thinking & problem solving
• Manuscript writing skills and learning about the publication process
• Skills to present research at conferences

Dr. Thanvi Srikant strongly supports a collaborative work environment, and is committed to mentoring the PhD student for a successful academic career. The student will be encouraged to attend workshops and training opportunities for skills development, discuss broad scientific literature actively, and also take the lead in designing their project. Dr. Srikant and the student will participate in regular meetings of the PEG group, as well as scientific colloquia at the Institute of Integrative Biology.

Furthermore, the student will have access to state-of-the art lab facilities, including the Genetic Diversity Centre (which provides various equipment for the high-throughput preparation of sequencing libraries), plant growth chambers & greenhouse facilities at the ETH Research Station for Plant Science, and also an opportunity to learn from an interdisciplinary science environment at the Institute of Integrative Biology.