PhD Position in Modelling Regulation of Plant Stress Responses across Species

Join CropXR as PhD candidate! Develop computational models to translate drought & heat stress responses from a model plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana) to crops. Combine plant biology and computational modelling in a dynamic and interdisciplinary setting.

Your job
Do you want to be part of the development of resilient crops that can continue to feed the world when faced with climate change, reduced pesticide use, and reduced irrigation? Then you might be the ideal candidate to join our interdisciplinary research institute CropXR! With a budget of 96 million euros over a period of ten years, CropXR focuses on creating eXtra Resilient (XR), sustainable, and climate-adaptive crops. By combining plant biology, simulation modelling, and artificial intelligence we aim to develop smart breeding and cultivation methods. Thus, we try to speed up the breeding of complex resilience traits for several crops in different growing systems. This collaborative effort involves four universities and numerous companies. It encompasses scientific research, data collection and sharing, education, and practical applications in agriculture and plant breeding. Visit the CropXR website for more information.

Currently there are two PhD positions available that are part of the Translator work package within the core research programme of CropXR. One position at Utrecht University (UU) and one at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Our shared goal is to develop computational methods to translate integrated simulation models of plant responses to stress (drought, heat) from a model plant species (Arabidopsis thaliana) to a number of agronomically relevant annual crop species. This highly interdisciplinary and collaborative work package brings together experimentalists, who provide measurement data for translating and testing model predictions; bioinformaticians, who investigate evolutionary conservation of sequence, (co)expression and regulatory modules; and modellers, who develop crop-specific integrated plant models.

The two PhD candidates will focus on complementary modelling objectives and will partly work together. Data produced by other research teams within the work package will be available for model design and parameterisation.

As a PhD candidate at Utrecht University, you will translate a mechanistic Arabidopsis drought and heat-stress response model to other species, going from the molecular network to the plant-level architecture and responses. You will analyse changes relative to the Arabidopsis regulatory networks and how these may impact response to drought and heat stress. You will construct these species-specific mechanistic network models based on both genomic comparisons and machine learning based species-specific module identification. You will integrate these network models into species specific architectural plant models, to investigate how difference in stress responses arise from differences in control networks, plant architecture, or their combination.

The PhD position at Utrecht University is within the Theoretical Biology research group, led by prof. Kirsten ten Tusscher. Regular meetings will be organised together with the Wageningen modelling team, in addition to meetings of the entire Translator work package, to facilitate communication and collaboration.

As a PhD candidate, you will develop computational methods and use these to obtain a better understanding of plant stress responses and their relevance for plant fitness and crop yield. You will communicate your results with other scientists and teams within and beyond CropXR. Additionally you will contribute to the education of BSc and MSc students from different knowledge institutions working with you on the project (max. 10-15% of your time).

To see what the strongly related PhD position at Wageningen University is about, and/or apply for that as well, you can visit the WUR website for more details.

• A position for 18 months, with an extension to a total of four years upon successful assessment in the first 18 months;
• a gross monthly salary between €2,901 and €3,707 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.

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You will be part of the Theoretical Biology research group, led by Professor Kirsten ten Tusscher, at the Department of Biology.