Investigate Microbiome-Mediated Drought Resilience in Barley - PhD Fellowship opportunity at Aarhus University

BEMÆRK: Ansøgningsfristen er overskredet

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Agroecology programme. The position is available from 01 January 2025 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title
Unravelling mechanisms of microbiome-mediated drought resilience in barley

Research area and project description
We are inviting candidates interested in performing a PhD that will investigate how we can harness plant microbiomes to enhance climate change resilience and sustainability of agriculture. The PhD is part of a larger project, BarleyMicroBreed (www.barleymicrobreed.eu) funded by the EC Horizon Europe programme.

The project builds on the hypothesis that we can significantly improve plant abiotic stress resilience by optimizing interactions between roots and the soil microbiota. The PhD student will investigate how specific genetic regions of barley regulate interactions with root microbiomes and examine mechanisms of microbiome-mediated drought resilience in barley. The research will utilize barley mutants impaired in different gene regions expected to regulate microbiome recruitment and drought responses. The PhD student will use transcriptomics to elucidate plant responses to microbial diversity, while metabarcoding and/or -genomics will be used to elucidate microbial responses to the barley mutants.

The PhD project specifically entails growing barley plants subjected to drought treatments, characterizing their root microbiomes and as well as plant phenotypic and molecular responses. The project will therefore involve hands on work in the glasshouse, but also a significant amount of molecular lab work, bioinformatics and data analysis. As part of the experimental work will be performed with partners in Austria and the Czech Republic, the PhD student must be prepared to spend some months abroad. As part of your training, you will be given the opportunity to develop relevant skills in both scientific (data analysis, lab skills, scientific writing etc.) and non-scientific (communication, project management) areas.

The PhD position is based in a rural setting close to Slagelse within the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Your supervisors will be Senior Researcher Mette Vestergård and Professor Mogens Nicolaisen, and you will be working in a vibrant team of researchers studying different aspects of plant-microbe interactions.

Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Qualifications and specific competences
Applicants must have a relevant Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Biology or similar and have a strong interest in plants and microorganisms. Knowledge about bioinformatics, statistics and experience with R, Python or similar software will be advantages.

You will be trained and supported in the different aspects of the project.

We expect that you

• are motivated to acquire and develop strong computational and analytical skills
• are interested in molecular laboratory work
• are able to write scientific articles
• are ambitious, enthusiastic and eager to learn
• can work both independently and in close collaboration with technical and scientific staff at all levels

Good collaborative skills are required, and you are expected to contribute fully to the large, diverse and highly active microbial ecology research group that you will become part of. We also expect you to be able to communicate in both written and oral English.

Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is section for Entomology and Plant Pathology, Agroecology, Flakkebjerg, Forsøgsvej 1, DK-4200 Slagelse, Denmark.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact:

• Senior researcher Mette Vestergård, mvestergard@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Professor Mogens Nicolaisen, mn@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor and project owner)

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 31 July 2024 at 23:59 CEST.

Preferred starting date is 01 January 2025

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.

 

INFORMATIONER OM STILLINGEN:

- Arbejdspladsen ligger i:

Slagelse Kommune

-Virksomheden tilbyder:

-Arbejdsgiver:

Aarhus Universitet, Forsøgsvej, 4200 Slagelse

-Ansøgning:

Ansøgningsfrist: 31-07-2024; - ansøgningsfristen er overskredet

Se mere her: https://job.jobnet.dk/CV/FindWork/Details/6064205