Phd Position in Molecular Control of

6 maanden geleden


Utrecht, Nederland Universiteit Utrecht Voltijd

The immune system helps plants resist pathogen infections and has been well studied. However, it becomes increasingly clear that enhancing defense comes at a cost, as plants slow down growth even if the infection is successfully combatted. In this project, you will investigate how plants control their growth during and after an immune response. This research is embedded in the CropXR work package on growth-resilience trade-offs and combines digital phenotyping and molecular omics technologies.

**Your job**:
Current projections show that the incidence of diseases on crops will increase in the coming decades, and thus, new strategies, beyond strengthening the immune system, are needed to ensure the resilience of future crops to diseases. It turns out that plants slow down their growth during and after an immune response regardless of the disease intensity. However, how these growth processes are regulated in plants is unclear. In this PhD project embedded in CropXR, you uncover the genetic and molecular basis of plant growth during and after an immune response. With this knowledge, we aim to develop solutions for resistance that do not compromise crop growth.

The project comprises three phases:

- In the first phase of the project, you will perform high-throughput digital phenotyping of _Arabidopsis thaliana_ mutant population grown with or without administered immunity-activating treatments in the Netherlands Plant Ecophenotyping Center (NPEC). You will utilise modelling, genetic mapping, and machine learning techniques to identify genes controlling the growth during and after an immune response.
- In the second phase of the project, validation of the genetic leads will be performed using CRISPR-Cas gene editing and alteration of gene expression.

A supervision team of 2-3 people will support your professional development as a researcher. Our research group and the CropXR consortium provide all the needed expertise. You will have opportunities to discuss your professional development and future career steps with a mentor from an industry or other area of your choice.

We currently have another PhD position on growth-immunity tradeoffs available in Dmitry Lapin’s team. For more information about this position, check out our website.

**Your qualities**:
We are looking for a collaborative, enthusiastic, and curious colleague who:

- has a completed MSc degree or is about to get an MSc degree in molecular and/or computational biology;
- has an affinity with experimental (plant) biology research;
- has demonstrated skills in either or both computational and molecular biology research;
- wants to learn, deploy, or even develop new methods of computational and molecular biology research.

**Our offer**:
We offer:

- a position for 4 years;
- a gross monthly salary between €2,770 and €3,539 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale P under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU);
- 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
- a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

**About us**:
A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

At the Faculty of Science there are 6 departments to make a fundamental connection with: Biology, Chemistry, Information and Computing Sciences, Mathematics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Physics. Each of these is made up of distinct institutes that work together to focus on answering some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. More fundamental still are the individual research groups - the building blocks of our ambitious scientific projects.

The department of Biology consists of an Education Institute and 12 chair groups with a total of 350 staff members. The chair groups are organised within the Institute of Environmental Biology and the Institute for Biodynamics and Biocomplexity. The department is responsible for the Bachelor's programme in Biology, where we annually welcome over 400 students. This means we educate over 30% of biology students in the Netherlands. Additionally, staff members of the d



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