Do you have a passion for genetic analysis and physiological modelling of efficient water use, photosynthesis and crop productivity? Do you hold a a PhD and do you have mathematical modelling experience? And do you want to be part of our crop physiology team of experimenters and modellers? Then we are looking for you!

The post-doctoral candidate will be responsible for implementing a component of the interdisciplinary project "Adaptive Rice Cultivation for a Changing ClimatE (Ad-RiCCE)" funded jointly by NWO (Dutch Research Council) and DBT (Indian Department of Biotechnology).

In this project component, the aim is to combine genetic mapping and physiological modelling to design rice ideotypes for the high performance in terms of photosynthetic traits, water use efficiency and grain yield of rice crops under drought in the context of climate smart agriculture. Therefore, you will be expected to:

• use and develop modelling tools to identify relevant traits;
• to investigate natural variations in these traits of rice association panels;
• to conduct GWAS (genome-wide association study)
• subsequent model-based design of crop genotypes to support breeding activities

You will also work collaboratively with multi-partners (including molecular geneticists and breeders) in India, as well as with researchers in University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, to achieve the overall project objective, i.e. to develop and disseminate water saving practices and water-productive varieties to improve rice production in resource-poor environments.

The post-doctoral position will be under the daily supervision of Dr. Xinyou Yin in the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis (CSA), Wageningen University & Research. The position will be co-supervised by Prof. Paul C. Struik (CSA) and Prof. Sheshshayee Sreeman (Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, India).

This is a position within the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis (CSA), part of the Department of Plant Sciences, Wageningen University. The Centre is a federation of two chair groups, which are closely interacting in all aspects of their daily activities. The chair groups include Crop Physiology and Crop and Weed Ecology. The candidate will be a member of the Crop Physiology chair. Both chairs are strongly committed to excellent research and teaching providing the scientific basis for the development of high-quality plant production in sustainable agro-ecosystems. CSA focuses on understanding the functioning of crops from underlying physiological and community ecological processes.

• A PhD in plant science, biology, or related fields, with an interest in both crop physiology and genetics;
• Expertise and experience with modelling within a biological context, and handling, analysing and interpreting complex data sets;
• Experience with physiological modelling and genetic mapping analysis (preferred);
• Willingness to travel to, and to spend a large part of the time in, partner institutes in India;
• A collaborative worker with good interpersonal communication skills and awareness of the interdisciplinary nature of the project;
• A good command of both spoken and written English language.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and 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 of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €2836 and €4474 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). The job is for a period of 4 years (initially for 1 year, and extension for another 3 years after a positive evaluation).

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. 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 17th 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. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. 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, and other issues.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University and 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, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen's unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

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.