Postdoctoral Fellow

IMPORTANT:  This Advertiser has requested that applicants MUST be National Residents / Valid Work Permit-holders.  Other applicants need not apply.

 

Mote Marine Laboratory (Mote), an independent not-for-profit institution established in 1955, has recently adopted a new 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan that includes as one of Mote’s four core priorities, “Ensure the long-term prosperity of the research enterprise through focused staff recruitment and nurturing programs.”  In order to address this specific priority, a new Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program began in 2011 with the addition of two Fellows.  Meet all 2012 Fellows here. This notice announces the availability of a new position.

The new Postdoctoral Fellow is expected to begin between March 15, 2013 and June 31, 2013, but exceptional candidates with a firm expectation of graduation by June 2013 will be considered. The full-time position includes an annual salary of $40,000. Health insurance is also provided, with family options. Benefits include an opt-in retirement plan with employer matching, leaves for holidays, illness, and vacation, and other benefits. The Postdoctoral Fellow will also have an established researcher assigned to serve as a dedicated mentor and will receive office/laboratory space and funds for startup, operations, and travel.

The Fellowship position will be for a period of two years (assuming appropriate first-year progress). The Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program is planning on having eight concurrent Fellowship positions overlapping each year by 2020. 

As an independent, nonprofit, mission-based organization, Mote’s greatest strength has been its ability to define its own agenda and research based on our communities’ needs and our scientists’ expertise.  Mote is committed to being a leader in nationally and internationally respected research programs that are relevant to conservation and the sustainable use of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources.  We envision a comprehensive and integrated Mote enterprise with research, innovation and public education and outreach programs that are among the most creative and fruitful in the world.  Postdoctoral Fellows will be selected based on their ability to not only strengthen and diversify the Laboratory’s significant existing research expertise, but also the potential to establish their own innovative research initiatives that address Mote’s new 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan.  Exemplary Fellows may be invited to join Mote as Staff Scientists upon completion of their initial two-year appointment.

Mote’s research extends throughout the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and tropical to polar environments. The main 10 acre campus is headquartered on Lido Key in Sarasota, Florida, with a nearby 200 acre inland marine aquaculture research park; in Charlotte Harbor (Lee County- southwest Florida) with a fisheries research station, and on Summerland Key (Monroe County- Florida Keys) with a Tropical Research Laboratory.  Mote’s existing research programs include behavioral ecology & physiology, benthic ecology, biomedical research, chemical and physical ecology, coral reef ecosystem research, coral reef science & monitoring, dolphin research, ecotoxicology, environmental laboratory for forensics, environmental health, fisheries habitat ecology, manatee research, marine & freshwater aquaculture research, marine biomedical research, marine immunology, marine mammals & sea turtles, marine microbiology, marine stock enhancement, ocean acidification, phytoplankton ecology, sea turtle conservation & research, sensory biology & behavior, shark biology, and marine stranding investigations. 

Mote’s present situation creates new opportunities for innovative research, including

• World-class marine aquaculture facilities and on-site coral ecosystem research facilities
• Tri-national agreement between Mexico, Cuba, and U.S. marine scientists & resource managers
• Affiliation agreements with the University of South Florida (USF @ Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota/Manatee) and the University of the West Indies (Mona campus and Discovery Bay & Port Royal marine laboratories)
• William R. and Lenore Mote Eminent Scholar Chair and international symposia in fisheries ecology with Florida State University
• National Center for Shark Research
• Florida Sea Grant; Florida Institute of Oceanography; Florida Coastal Ocean Observing Systems Consortium and Mote’s coastal ocean observing laboratory;
• 1.3 million gallon seawater system dedicated for research purposes

Mote is part of a growing marine research enterprise zone on the Florida Gulf coast that includes the Gulf of Mexico Alliance and three National Estuary Programs (Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor), Southeast Regional Headquarters of the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program including the Florida Keys, Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, Florida Wildlife Research Institute, USF College of Marine Sciences, SRI, U.S. Geological Survey’s St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, and numerous national wildlife refuges and state aquatic preserves.  Mote is also a member institution of the Florida Institute of Oceanography and Florida Sea Grant.

APPLICATION

Recent Ph.D. graduates, those with firm expectation of graduation by June 2013 and others with prior postdoctoral experience are invited to apply.  Applications from any field of marine research including engineering, social science and policy will be considered.  Mote would especially encourage applications that focus on population ecology and/or trophic dynamics of valued coastal species, and modeling of coastal ecosystems. However, equal consideration will be given to candidates working in Mote’s current fields of inquiry, candidates that meld Mote’s current fields of inquiry and candidates who will pursue new research directions addressing issues related to: climate change impacts on resiliency and restoration of coral reef ecosystems, marine biotechnology and ecogenomics, marine conservation science, derived products for human health and quality of life, etc. Competitive applications will focus on research programs that are relevant to conservation and the sustainable uses of marine biodiversity, healthy habitats and natural resources; will bring or propose new multi-investigator/institutional collaborations to Mote and will be cognizant of global issues.

Applicants must be eligible to work in the U.S. in 2013. A complete application will be a single pdf filecontaining:

• A letter of interest and availability including employment status
• Academic transcript of doctoral studies
• Copy of the Ph.D. or equivalent professional degree (Persons with a firm expectation of graduating by June 2013 may apply.)
• Curriculum vitae
• A two-page essay describing the applicant’s intended research program and mentor (See Note 1)
• Three representative journal publications (in press or published)
• As appropriate, the name and contact information of major professor and/or postdoctoral supervisor, and
• Names of three references including their complete contact information and availability during September 2012.

Novel media other than pdf essential to an individual’s application may be submitted.

In fairness to all applicants and reviewers, only complete applications will be accepted. Address cover letters to the Postdoctoral Search Committee Chairman. Send applications by email to  HumanResources@mote.org, using the subject line “Postdoctoral Application,” or by mail to Mote Marine Laboratory, attention Human Resources, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL  34236.  Applications will be reviewed beginning January 15, 2013 and the position will remain open until filled.

Note 1:  A list identifying Mote scientists available to mentor postdoctoral associates follows. In the event there is no ideal link between existing Mote investigator expertise and an applicant’s research interest, the applicant may recommend a non-Mote senior researcher to serve in the capacity of an extramural co-mentor.

***UPDATE: It is not necessary for applicants to obtain the consent of prospective mentors. For initial application purposes it is sufficient to identify the resident scientist at Mote whose expertise most closely matches the applicant’s.