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 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title
Highly downy mildew resistant spinach to fight crop waste (ResistWaste)
Research area and project description
Spinach is a healthy and popular vegetable across the northern hemisphere, with China, USA and EU being the major producers. While the cultivation of spinach is widespread, 75% of the seed production is concentrated in Denmark. A specific problem in the spinach value chain derives from fresh packaged products which are in high demand. Their shelf-life is very sensitive to the occurrence of damaged or diseased leaves because they tend to spoil the whole package. Product lost in this way amplifies the carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of the production. The major disease contributing to this problem is spinach downy mildew (DM) caused by Peronospora effusa. Breeding DM resistant cultivars is therefore the top goal for spinach breeders. Unfortunately, DM is rapidly evolving, and new disease races break the resistance of elite spinach varieties with accelerating frequency. Breeders are struggling to keep up because the most important naturally occurring resistance genes (RPF’s) are in a single hotspot in the genome. Thus, crossing in resistance to a new DM race means losing resistance to old races. Resistwaste aims solve this problem by providing new sources of DM resistance.
You will work with “New Genomic Techniques” (NGT), including CRISPR-Cas to develop highly DM resistant spinach lines for the cultivars of the future.
You will gain diverse competences within plant biotechnology, including genetic transformation, NGT and advanced techniques for mutant molecular charaterization such as capilary electrophoresis and digital PCR. The project will proceed in close colaboration with an industry partner.
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
You must have a relevant Master’s degree in Agroecology, Agronomy, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology or similar. Experience with molecular techniques (PCR, cloning, etc) or plant tissue culture is an advantage.
We exepct that you:
- Are highly interested in how plants work at the molecular level.
- Have good communication skills in English, written and oral.
- Are motivated for both experimental work and scientific writing.
- Have a strong intrinsic motivation.
- Thrive in an informal collaborative workspace.
Place of employment and place of work
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Research center Flakkebjerg, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark.
Contacts
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
- Henrik Brinch-Pedersen, hbp@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
- Claus Krogh Madsen, ClausKrogh.Madsen@agro.au.dk (co-supervisor)
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:
How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 30 October 2025 at 23:59 CET.
Preferred starting date is 1 January 2026.
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: 30-10-2025;
Se mere her: https://job.jobnet.dk/CV/FindWork/Details/56a3fb28-4209-4aca-8584-38190ef3f3db
