Heat waves are on the rise both in intensity and frequency. Sebastian will be joining an ongoing project looking at the impact of heat stress on plant reproductive health. The aim is to identify genetic variants associated with heat stress tolerance that can be used for marker assisted selection in future breeding programs. Specifically, the project involves exposing 200 genotypes of the wild woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca), that have been collected across Europe, to heat stress and screen for pollen viability. All 200 genotypes have been sequenced and this will allow for genotype by phenotype and genotype by environment association analyses. The postdoc will be responsible for carrying out the experiments in the project, collect data, perform the analyses and write manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed scientific journals. He will be provided with all the require support for successfully implementing the project.