Post doc on socially transferred materials

VU Amsterdam

Full-time Life Scientists
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Location
Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands
Posted
July 12, 2026

Job Description

Your function

The HFSP-funded project revolves around the concept of Socially Transferred Materials (STMs), which was defined a few years ago as an emerging new field in science: Across animals, organisms have repeatedly and convergently evolved ways to transfer materials between bodies that manipulate or support receiver physiology, fertility, or behaviour. Think of milk, seminal fluid, eggs, mucus, and regurgitates. Despite their ecological importance and applied potential, understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying STM function across evolutionary distant lineages is lacking. This project aims to combine a multitude of -omics and imaging techniques as well as functional studies to work towards deep, large-scale analyses of STM evolution and action. The focus will lie on a range of arthropods, molluscs, and chordates, with the aim to uncover universal STM design principles as well as lineage-specific variants.

Your duties
Using your e...