Applications are now open for the ISA-Ifremer Meioscool postdoctoral fellowship in cybertaxonomy with L’Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer) for candidates from developing States Members of the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
The 12-month postdoctoral fellowship position will focus on mentoring a Meioscool trainee in cybertaxonomy and automatic approaches for the assessment of anthropogenic stressors in areas of interest for deep-sea mining.
The ISA seeks candidates with a Ph.D. degree in marine biology or ecology, preferably with expertise in marine meiofauna taxonomy and microscopy. Fluency in both written and spoken English is required.
The fellow will be part of Ifremer’s “Blue Revolution” and “MEIODYSSEA” projects, focusing on applying cybertaxonomy using 2D and 3D imaging techniques. The fellow will build a reference training data set based on processed images, combined with visual and manual image analysis for machine learning method development. The Meioscool mentorship will include training on ISA-standardized approaches and integrative tools for investigating meiofauna, during which the fellow will participate in the development of the ISA-Ifremer Meioscool “Training Kit.”
It is the mandate of ISA, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment and promote and encourage marine scientific research in the international seabed area. ISA is also committed to contributing towards the scientific objectives of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030, as reflected in the Action Plan in support of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development adopted by the ISA Assembly in December 2020. Developing innovative, cost-effective and practical tools and methodologies for the assessment and monitoring of deep-sea biodiversity is essential to ensure activities in international seabed area are environmentally sustainable. Through this partnership with Ifremer, ISA aims to contribute to identifying scientifically robust, coherent and coordinated ways to advance knowledge of deep-sea biodiversity and enhance capacities in relation to deep-sea taxonomy, particularly among its developing Member States.
The postdoctoral fellowship is a joint initiative by ISA and Ifremer selected by the Board of the ISA Partnership Fund, a multi-donor trust fund established by the ISA Assembly at its twenty-seventh session. The fellowship, hosted at Ifremer in France, is provided as part of ISA’s capacity development programmes
for nationals from developing States Members of ISA and will also contribute to the implementation of the ISA’s Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative.
Please visit this link for more information and to apply for the fellowship. Applications from qualified candidates should be received no later than 30 May 2025.
About the International Seabed Authority
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous intergovernmental organization mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to manage the mineral resources of the seabed beyond national jurisdiction for the shared benefit of humankind. The Authority is committed to ensuring that all economic activities in the deep seabed, including mining, are regulated and responsibly managed using the best available scientific evidence for the benefit of all humankind.
For inquiries, please contact:
The Office of Environmental Management and Mineral Resources: oemmr@isa.org.jm