PhD Doktorand (mwd) sedDNA

As part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea the North Frisian Wadden Sea (Schleswig-Holstein Germany) represents a globally unique ecosystem. At the same time it is the remnant of a cultural landscape that has been intensively shaped by humans since the Middle Ages. Extreme storm surges caused large parts of this coastal region to drown. Numerous relics of the formerly cultivated land remain hidden within the tidal flats to this day. They act as a time capsule preserving archaeological remains of great value for the cultural heritage of the entire Wadden Sea region.

Starting in 2026 the Research Unit FOR 5837 Times of Rise and Failure (TORF) Integrative research on the cultural landscape development in the North Frisian Wadden Sea region during the Common Era aims for the systematic multidisciplinary investigation and spatio-temporal reconstruction of the medieval coastal landscape of North Frisia (Schleswig-Holstein Germany) that drowned during a severe storm surge in 1362 AD.

Using a multidisciplinary approach FOR 5837 brings together researchers from archaeology history geography geology geophysics and microbiology across seven subprojects in close interdisciplinary collaboration. Participating institutions include Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) Kiel University (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel CAU) the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) the State Archaeology Department Schleswig-Holstein (ALSH) and the Lower Saxony Institute for Historical Coastal Research (NIhK).

Subproject 6: Reconstruction of North Frisias human-ecosystem interactions on molecular level

Join our team

The Research Group for Ancient DNA Analysis at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB) Kiel University and the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Kiel Germany invites applications for one PhD position in soil ancient DNA analysis (Subproject 6) starting on 01.04.2026 on afixed-termcontract until 31.03.2030.

What we offer you:

• Competitive salary according to TV-L E13 (75%) subject to collective bargaining regulations
• Exciting research work in the Research Group for Ancient DNA Analysis
• Exceptional infrastructure (Ancient DNA Lab NGS bioinformatics) at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology
• Integration into the interdisciplinary Research Unit FOR 5837 stimulating collaborations with archaeologists and bio- or geoscientist
• You are welcome to inform yourself about our benefits under:Benefits ()

What you can expect:

• Analyse ancient metagenomic data from archaeological and sedimentary contexts in the Wadden Sea region
• Reconstruct past land use human activities and subsistence practices in a dynamic coastal environment
• Investigate long-term humanenvironment interactions using molecular and archaeological data
• Collaborate closely with the Subproject 6 partner group in Mainz with a focus on fecal biomarker analyses
• Participate actively in fieldwork and sampling campaigns in the Wadden Sea region

Your profile

• An MSc in a discipline relevant for the project (e.g. bioinformatics biology genetics microbiology ancient DNA analysis) is a prerequisite
• High interest in working in a very interdisciplinary environment and in archaeological questions is a must
• Expertise in processing non-human genomic data programming database curation is a must
• ancient DNA data analysis is desirable
• Very good written and spoken English as well as a good command of German are required

We look forward to receiving your application on04.02.2026 quoting reference number27893.