{"id":6101,"date":"2026-09-14T14:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/?p=6101"},"modified":"2026-09-14T14:30:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:30:43","slug":"graduate-student-positions-available-in-environmental-microbiology-and-biogeochemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/2026\/graduate-student-positions-available-in-environmental-microbiology-and-biogeochemistry\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduate student positions available in environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Graduate student positions available in environmental microbiology and biogeochemistry \n\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Applications are invited for two fully funded positions at Carleton University to investigate
microbial and geochemical controls on biodegradation of microplastics in wetlands.<\/em>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microplastics persist in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, posing risks to sensitive ecosystems
such as wetlands. Although laboratory studies have identified microorganisms capable of
degrading plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), very little is known about whether
these processes occur naturally in complex environmental settings. Geochemical characterization
of water and sediments, phospholipid fatty acid biomarker analysis, metagenomics, and cultivation
studies will be used to advance knowledge of the fate of microplastics within wetlands and the
potential for biodegradation and putative mechanistic pathways. Two positions are available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Ph.D. Biology \u2013 working with Dr. Allyson Brady this student will determine whether naturally
    occurring microbial communities degrade persistent microplastics in wetland sediments using lipid
    biomarker and natural-abundance radiocarbon isotope techniques. Interested students will ideally
    have a relevant degree and experience in biogeochemistry, organic geochemistry,
    geomicrobiology, microbial ecology, and\/or microbiology. Prior experience with mass
    spectrometry would be considered a strong asset. This position is open to Canadian domestic
    students. If interested, please contact AllysonBrady@cunet.carleton.ca and refer to this ad.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. M.Sc. or Ph.D. Chemistry \u2013 working with Dr. Daniel Gr\u00e9goire this student will investigate how
    environmental conditions such as redox state, nutrient availability, mineralogy, and geochemistry
    influence microbial plastic degradation through controlled laboratory enrichment experiments.
    There is room to expand this into a Ph.D. that leverages mass spectrometry to characterize
    pharmaceutical transformed by microbes associated with plastic. If interested, please contact
    DanielGregoire@cunet.carleton.ca and refer to this ad.
    Students will be part of an interdisciplinary and collaborative team. Our research group is
    committed to maintaining a welcoming, respectful, and collaborative environment where all
    members can succeed. We encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds and
    are dedicated to fostering equity, inclusion, and equal opportunity for everyone. Students from
    historically underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
    <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As part of your application, please include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • A description of how this project builds on your previous experience and fits within your own education or career goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A short academic CV<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Transcripts (unofficial are fine)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Applications are invited for two fully funded positions at Carleton University to investigatemicrobial and geochemical controls on biodegradation of microplastics in wetlands. Microplastics persist in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, posing risks to sensitive ecosystemssuch as wetlands. Although laboratory studies have identified microorganisms capable ofdegrading plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), very little is known about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":248,"featured_media":6106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6101"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6105,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6101\/revisions\/6105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/chemistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}