A consortium of the Developmental Biology and Cell Biology groups of the Department of Biology, in collaboration with the Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics group of the Department of Chemistry at Utrecht University and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR, Bergen, Norway), is looking for an enthusiastic scholar wanting to do a PhD on the AES-financed project “Induced sterility in farmed salmon - a sustainable approach to improve welfare and performance” (project leader Jan Bogerd). Your primary task will be to carry out research in the context of this project to solve salmon aquaculture issues associated with genetic introgression and precocious male puberty to further enhance salmon aquaculture sustainability and efficiency. In this project, you will develop approaches based on nanobody-drug conjugates to render salmon sterile. In addition, you are expected to carry out some work as a teaching assistant within the department.

Our ideal candidate is driven and positive and has:

• an MSc degree (or equivalent) in Biology or Molecular Life Sciences, or you are able to obtain such a degree before the starting date of the PhD project;
• a strong background in at least one but preferentially two of the following areas: Reproductive Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and/or Biochemistry;
• experience with nanobodies or phage display (mandatory requirement);
• working proficiency in English;
• a collaborative and enterprising attitude towards research in this field, and a willingness for repeated visits to the Matre research station of IMR (Norway).

This project represents the collaborative effort of an active research community including Paul van Bergen en Henegouwen, Sabrina Oliveira (Cell Biology), Eefjan Breukink (Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics), Anna Wargelius, Rolf B. Edvardsen and Per Gunnar Fjelldal (IMR), and Rüdiger W. Schulz and Jan Bogerd (Developmental Biology). You will have ample opportunity to participate in seminars and workshops here in Utrecht. The available funding also supports repeated travel to Bergen, Norway for research and to conferences and workshops abroad.

We also offer you as PhD student:

• a position for 4 years;
• a full-time gross salary that starts at €2,395 and increases to €3,061 per month in the fourth year (scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities (CAO));
• benefits including 8% holiday bonus and 8.3% end-of-year bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave, and flexible employment conditions based on the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities.

In addition to the employment conditions laid down in the CAO for Dutch Universities, Utrecht University has a number of its own arrangements. For example, there are agreements on professional development, leave arrangements and sports. We also give you the opportunity to expand your terms of employment yourself via the Employment Conditions Selection Model. This is how we like to encourage you to continue to grow.

More information about working at the Faculty of Science can be found here.

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 problems. More fundamental still are the individual research groups – the building blocks of our ambitious scientific projects.

Utrecht University is a friendly and ambitious university at the heart of an ancient city. We love to welcome new scientists to our city – a thriving cultural hub that is consistently rated as one of the world’s happiest cities. We are renowned for our innovative interdisciplinary research and our emphasis on inspirational research and excellent education. We are equally well-known for our familiar atmosphere and the can-do mentality of our people. This lively and inspiring academic environment attracts professors, researchers, and PhD candidates from all over the globe, making both the University and the Faculty of Science a vibrant international and wonderfully diverse community.