Laboratory training for students
The Centre offers laboratory training for up to twelve months to Norwegian and international students. We welcome you if you are currently enrolled as a student and want to explore marine animal models in the study of development and evolution.
To be eligible you must be registered at a university that provides adequate theoretical education in molecular biology or developmental biology, cell biology, genetics and marine biology. Start dates can be set at any time during the year.
Students who have been here say the work is different from what they are used to: instead of analytical laboratories they do basic research, and they take part in projects from beginning to end.
How to apply for laboratory training
Send a short CV describing your level of education and your research interests to the group leader you want to work with, or to the Head of Administration at the Centre. You will quickly be told whether you are eligible for the training programme.
You will find the group leaders and their fields in the overview of research groups at the Centre. Choose the group closest to what you want to work on — that group decides whether there is space and supervision capacity.
Doing a PhD at the Centre
PhD candidates at the Michael Sars Centre are admitted to the doctoral education programme at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Bergen, and are supervised in one of the research groups at the Centre. The positions themselves are advertised on Jobbnorge, usually tied to a specific project in a group.
If you want to know the admission requirements, how the programme is structured and how to apply, you will find it in the general description of doctoral education at UiB. If you have your own project proposal, contact the relevant group leader first.
Doctoral degrees awarded at the Centre
More than 40 candidates have defended their thesis with a supervisor at the Michael Sars Centre since 2003. Open a period to see the theses.
2020–2024
- Aishwarya Ravi (August 2024). “Polarized Recruitment of Secretory Vesicles in the Choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta: Insights into the Origin of Neurosecretion”. Group leader: Burkhardt.
- Giulio Rosano (June 2024). “Evolution of the delta family of ionotropic glutamate receptors”. Group leader: Lynagh.
- Yuhong Wang (June 2024). “Nature's View of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors”. Group leader: Lynagh.
- Ronja Göhde (December 2023). “Secretory vesicle protein homologues in choanoflagellates”. Group leader: Burkhardt.
- Mowgli Dandamudi (September 2023). “Development of chemogenetic tools from invertebrate ion channels”. Group leader: Lynagh.
- Paula Miramón-Puértolas (June 2023). “Mesenterial adult stem-like cells as a potential source of germinal and somatic lineages in a sea anemone”. Group leader: Steinmetz.
- Zonglai Liang (June 2022). “Exploring the function of Anoctamin family genes for Ciona intestinalis”. Group leader: Chatzigeorgiou.
- Marion Lebouvier (September 2021). “Food uptake, lipid transport and vitellogenesis in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Steinmetz.
- Andrea Orus Alcalde (June 2021). “Innate immune mechanisms in invertebrates: insights into the Toll pathway, the Imd pathway, and the complement system”. Group leader: Hejnol.
- Riccardo Esposito (May 2021). “Comprehensive characterization of glial cells in the urochordate Ciona intestinalis”. Group leader: Chatzigeorgiou.
- Quentin Lemaître (March 2021). “Role of Prdm genes in ectodermal and non-ectodermal neurogenesis in Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Rentzsch.
- Viviana Cetrangolo (October 2020). “Comparative analysis of acoel embryonic development”. Group leader: Hejnol.
- Clemens Döring (February 2020). “Evolutionary origin and function of eyes in coronated bryozoan larvae”. Group leader: Hausen.
- Océane Barbara Tournière (February 2020). “Specification and differentiation of neural cells in Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Rentzsch.
2015–2019
- Suman Kumar (November 2019). “Evolutionary and developmental perspective on annelid eye and nervous system: Insights from Malacoceros fuliginosus”. Group leader: Hausen.
- Haiyang Feng (November 2018). “Roles of M-phase cell cycle regulatory paralogs in the urochordate Oikopleura dioica”. Group leader: Thompson.
- Jean-Marie Bouquet (October 2017). “Response of the gelatinous zooplankton Oikopleura dioica to warmer, acidified seawater conditions”. Group leader: Thompson.
- Daniel Thiel (June 2017). “Evolutionary and behavioural analysis of neuropeptides in bilaterians”. Group leader: Hejnol.
- Oliver Vöcking (November 2016). “Larvefotoreseptorene hos mollusken Leptochiton asellus”. Group leader: Hausen.
- Jana Mikhaleva (November 2016). “Contribution of homeobox genes to the development of the oikoplastic epithelium, a major novelty of tunicate Larvaceans”. Group leader: Chourrout.
- Bruno Vellutini (March 2016). “Comparative development of spiralian larvae”. Group leader: Hejnol.
- Markus Bause (October 2015). “Molecular analysis of the development and function of the apical organ in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Rentzsch.
- Gunasekaran Subramaniam (May 2015). “Lifespan extension in a semelparous chordate Oikopleura dioica via developmental growth arrest: Roles of Target of Rapamycin (TOR) signalling and D cyclins”. Group leader: Thompson.
2010–2014
- Sofia Valero Fortunato (May 2014). “Gene loss, lineage specific expansions and dynamic expression of developmental transcription factors in calcareous sponges”. Group leader: Adamska.
- Chiara Sinigaglia (June 2013). “The anterior pole of Metazoa: insights from the oral-aboral axis and the apical organ of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Rentzsch.
- Wei Deng (January 2013). “The cellular and molecular mechanisms of the notochord tubulogenesis in the marine invertebrate Ciona intestinalis”. Group leader: Di Jiang.
- Alexandra Moosmann (October 2010). “Histone complement of a rapidly evolving chordate Oikopleura dioica: Developmental and sex-specific deployment of novel and universal histone variants and their posttranslational modifications”. Group leader: Thompson.
2003–2009
- Michael Saina (November 2008). “The role of TGF-β signaling in early development of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Technau.
- Sutada Mungpakdee (October 2008). “Genome duplication and Hox cluster evolution in Atlantic salmon”. Group leader: Chourrout.
- Anna Rita Angotzi (October 2008). “Evolution of pitz and prop1 gene functions during fish pituitary development”. Group leader: Chourrout.
- Pavla Navralitova (September 2008). “Long-range transcriptional regulation of vertebrate developmental genes and the evolution of genome architecture”. Group leader: Becker.
- Anna Zofia Komisarczuk (June 2008). “cis-regulation and mis-regulation: insights into genomic regulatory mechanisms underlying the control of fgf8a in zebrafish Danio rerio”. Group leader: Becker.
- Jens Fritzenwanker (December 2007). “Early development, axis specification and apical organ formation in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis”. Group leader: Technau.
- Holger Bielen (October 2007). “Tracing the evolution of the mesoderm – characterisation of Brachyury paralogs in a diploblastic animal, the cnidarian Hydra”. Group leader: Technau.
- Anne-Mette Søviknes (June 2007). “Mapping of the central nervous system in the urochordate Oikopleura dioica”. Group leader: Glover.
- Vibeke Kyrkjebø (December 2006). “Characterization of Nuclear Respiratory Factor 1 using transgenic zebrafish”. Group leader: Becker.
- Anne Vatland Krøvel (December 2005). “Exploring germline formation and gametogenesis in zebrafish using the vas::EGFP transgene”. Group leader: Chourrout.
- Rolf B. Edvardsen (April 2005). “Rapid genome evolution in the urochordate lineage of Oikopleura dioica”. Group leader: Chourrout.
- Christofer Troedsson (February 2005). “Opportunistic growth and reproductive allotment in the filter-feeding appendicularian, Oikopleura dioica”. Group leader: Thompson.
- Karin Wibrand (December 2003). “Identification of genes expressed in the primordial germ cells of zebrafish by characterisation of maternal transcripts”. Group leader: Olsen.
- Cristine Stansberg (November 2003). “Interleukin-1 receptor family members of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)”. Group leader: Cunningham.
- Amaury Herpin (November 2003). “Structural and functional characterization of TGF-beta superfamily receptors from the bivalve mollusc Crassostrea gigas: evolutive implications”. Group leader: Cunningham.
- Mariacristina Chioda (October 2003). “Chromatin and histone metabolism in Oikopleura dioica: a life cycle of transitions”. Group leader: Thompson.
Next steps
Pages that are relevant if you are considering a stay or a position at the Centre.