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Offering a thesis opportunity?
Please send the following form duly completed to Student Services:
Form for offering a thesis opportunity
Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Myxozoans are some of the most bizarre and fascinating parasites known to science. They are highly reduced cnidarians (related to jellyfish and corals), which infect fish and other aquatic animals. They can be a serious threat to aquaculture and fisheries, including ornamental trade. The aim of the thesis is to explore myxozoan parasite diversity from fishes of Southern Mexico, an area considered a world biodiversity hotspot. The objective is to screen fish tissue using morphological and molecular methods in the lab. Our recent work showed high diversity of these parasites in Neotropical fishes (Alama-Bermejo et al. 2023 www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-38482-2) and the implications of these parasites for the ornamental fish trade and aquaculture. The thesis will continue this line of research.
Required Skills and Knowledge:
No previous knowledge is required. We will train you to use molecular methods (DNA, PCR) to screen fish tissues to detect microscopic parasites. You will also have the chance to use microscopy and morphometric data to characterize new parasites. We need from you someone that has motivation and curiosity, that is committed, organised and responsible for work.
Additional Information:
The fish samples are already available at Vetmeduni and were collected in field work at biological station of Los Tuxlas (Veracruz) in 2025, from ornamental and fish food species from Mexico. This is a collaborative project with the Natural History Museum (Geneva, Switzerland).
The dates to start and end are flexible. This thesis will require some molecular lab training, so we need some commitment to come to the lab in a regular basis to do the screening in the first months.
Duration of the thesis:
01.09.2026 - 28.02.2027
Language of the Thesis:
Englisch
Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Fish Health Division
Contact Person for the Thesis/Topic:
Asst. Prof. Gema Alama Bermejo PhD gema.alama@vetmeduni.ac.at
Feedback from students requested by:
Asap, flexible starting date
Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
With a behavioural experiment, we want to investigate whether pet dogs show surprise when presented with a “magic trick” in which an object seems to appear or disappear magically.The successful applicant will get to test approximately 15 dogs in a behavioural experiment at the Clever Dog Lab. The main responsibilities during the internship will include: recruiting the dogs’ caregivers, for example through our database and social media; testing dogs in the behavioural experiment; scoring videos of the experiment; reading the scientific literature on the topic; writing experimental protocols and documenting progress. The main expected outcomes of an internship can be a Master’s or Diploma thesis. Internships can be carried out also in fulfilment of other university obligations or as volunteering. If this sounds interesting to you, and you have at least 4 months to dedicate to your internship, we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Required Skills and Knowledge:
Interpersonal skills (to recruit and interact with dogs’ caregivers).
Previous certified experience with dog training is preferred but not required.
Duration of the thesis:
Summer 2026 – Winter 2027
Language of the Thesis:
Englisch
Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Messerli Research Institute, Clever Dog Lab
Contact Person for the Thesis/Topic:
Gabriella Smith, PhD (Gabriella.Smith@vetmeduni.ac.at);
Lucrezia Lonardo, PhD (lucrezia.lonardo@vetmeduni.ac.at).
Feedback from students requested by:
As soon as possible (no later than end of September)
Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
With a behavioural experiment, we want to investigate whether pet dogs show surprise when presented with a “magic trick” in which an object seems to appear or disappear magically.The successful applicant will get to test approximately 15 dogs in a behavioural experiment at the Clever Dog Lab. The main responsibilities during the internship will include: recruiting the dogs’ caregivers, for example through our database and social media; testing dogs in the behavioural experiment; scoring videos of the experiment; reading the scientific literature on the topic; writing experimental protocols and documenting progress. The main expected outcomes of an internship can be a Master’s or Diploma thesis. Internships can be carried out also in fulfilment of other university obligations or as volunteering. If this sounds interesting to you, and you have at least 4 months to dedicate to your internship, we are looking forward to hearing from you.
Required Skills and Knowledge:
Interpersonal skills (to recruit and interact with dogs’ caregivers).
Previous certified experience with dog training is preferred but not required.
Duration of the thesis:
Summer 2026 – Winter 2027
Language of the Thesis:
Englisch
Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Messerli Research Institute, Clever Dog Lab
Contact Person for the Thesis/Topic:
Gabriella Smith, PhD (Gabriella.Smith@vetmeduni.ac.at);
Lucrezia Lonardo, PhD (lucrezia.lonardo@vetmeduni.ac.at).
Feedback from students requested by:
As soon as possible (no later than end of September)
Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Topics include:
• The role of deleterious mutations for adaptation and maintenance of variation.
• Long-term adaptation of local Drosophila populations.
• The evolution of ageing.
• Inference of selection signatures from time-series data.
• Studying the genotype-phenotype map.
• Stabilising selection during polygenic adaptation.
• Evolution of regulatory networks.
Required Skills and Knowledge:
Over the past years, Vienna has developed into one of the leading centres of population genetics. The Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics has been founded to provide a training opportunity for PhD students to build on this excellent on-site expertise.
We invite applications from highly motivated and outstanding students with a love for evolutionary research and a background in one of the following disciplines: evolutionary genetics, functional genetics, theoretical or experimental population genetics, bioinformatics, mathematics, statistics.
Additional Information:
Only complete applications (application form, CV, motivation letter, university certificates, indication of the two preferred topics in a single pdf) received by 14 May 2025 will be considered. Two letters of recommendation need to be sent directly by the referees.
PhD students will receive a monthly salary based on currently € 2.464,80 before tax according to the regulations of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
All information about the about available topics, the training program and the application procedure can be found at www.popgen-vienna.at
Planned duration of the thesis project:
01.07.2025 to 01.09.2028
Language of the Thesis:
English
Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Inst. für Populationsgenetik
Contact Person for the Thesis:
Mag. Elisabeth Wagner-Weigerstorfer PhD
elisabeth.wagner-weigerstorfer@vetmeduni.ac.at
Coordinator, Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics
Institut für Populationsgenetik, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien
T +43 1 25077 4302
Interested candidates may reply until:
14.05.2025