PhD position on Rational Design of Synthetic Microbial Communities

Your job

Are you interested in microbial communities and how to design them? Are you eager to explore statistical approaches to engineer functional microbial communities for long-term applications? Then this PhD project could be what you’re looking for!

As a fully funded PhD student in the Systems & Synthetic Biology Chair Group, you will develop novel approaches to mathematically describe & engineer synthetic microbial communities. These communities combine known microorganisms to unlock novel functions. However, strategies are needed to ecologically stabilize these communities for resilient & reliable bioprocessing applications.

For this PhD position you will:

• combine experimental and computational work to develop holistic modelling- and statistics-based approaches for stable synthetic community design;
• work together with highly interdisciplinary colleagues in a collaborative environment;
• develop and lead novel research questions, design experiments, analyze and synthesize results, and communicate outcomes at (inter)national conferences as well as publish these outcomes in peer-reviewed journals.    

You will work in the

Systems & Synthetic Biology

chair group, led by Prof. Maria Suarez-Diez and you will be co-supervised by dr. ir. Pieter Candry & dr. Edoardo Saccenti.

Your qualities

The ideal candidate should have the following qualities:

• a succesfully completed MSc degree in Microbiology, Systems Biology, Biotechnology, Bio-engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field;
• interest and experience in mathematical descriptions of microbial interactions & ecology;
• familiar with microbial culturing, if possible axenic and/or anaerobic;
• strong spoken and written communication skills.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 

level

. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found

here

.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment . A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.770 - per month rising to € 3.539,-  in the fourth year in according to the

Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU)

(scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Pieter Candry by email: [email protected] , and Edoardo Saccenti by email: [email protected] .

For more information about the procedure, please contact Rutger Voorrips, corporate recruiter, by email: [email protected] .

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. Your application should include a CV highlighting your education & experience and a cover letter.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including Feb 1st , 2024. We hope to schedule the first job mid-February 2024.

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment .

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.