PhD position: Phylogenomics of plant defence plasticity to insect attack

Do you want to contribute to research into defence strategies of plants against various insects? Are you fascinated by the genomic flexibility that plants evolved to tackle complex challenges? Would you like to pursue a PhD where you become part of a collaborative academic environment in a multidisciplinary team of young scientists? Then you might be the candidate we are looking for!

Function Requirements:

• You have successfully completed a MSc degree in biology, plant sciences, bioinformatics or a related discipline;
• You are team-oriented, reliable and communicative, and eager to collaborate with other young scientist;
• You are an enthusiastic molecular biologist or bioinformatician with strong affinity for molecular plant genomics;
• Your expertise is rooted in understanding plant physiological responses to stress, and you enjoy to combine molecular profiling of plant responses to insect attack with measurements on plant and insect performance;
• You have the patience and demonstrable computational skills required for thorough exploration of genomic data.
• You have practical experience in basic molecular techniques, preferably in RNA isolation and qPCR;
• You have a very good level of oral and written English. You are required to show us a certification of English skills. For more information about the required level please take a look at: https://www.wur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/PhD-Programme/English-language-requirements.htm;
• You meet all the entry requirements of the WUR PhD programme.
• This vacancy will be listed up to and including 8 September 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews on 18 September 2024.