Are you an enthusiastic plant scientist who wants to study the communication of cells during seed germination, then we are looking for you!

This PhD project is part of the Gravitation programme GreenTE (Green Tissue Engineering), a multidisciplinary consortium of 7 Dutch universities. Together, GreenTE will unravel how plants sense and respond to mechanical stimuli. These fundamental insights will be the basis to develop engineering interventions to improve plant regeneration, seed germination and defenses against disease. The successful applicant will be an integral member of the GreenTE community, which offers an open, diverse and inspiring environment to engage in multidisciplinary mechanobiology research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and physics, and is expected to participate in GreenTE events, training and collaborations.

The subproject “How do cells communicate during seed germination?” will run under supervision of Prof dr Leónie Bentsink. You will be working in a team together with another PhD student and three post-doctoral researchers. In this PhD project, we aim for mapping the mechanical responses during seed germination. We will use a multi-point indentation technique to characterize the seeds’ mechanical properties, such as stiffness and rupture force, with a spatial resolution of a few micrometers. Further, we will use the plant-specific molecular mechanoprobes to generate high-resolution maps of the mechanical properties and turgor pressure inside the seed, using multiphoton confocal microscopy. We will link the gained knowledge to transcriptome, translatome and phosphoproteome data that will be generated by other researchers in the project team to finally create an integrated model of seed germination. The constructed models will be functionally characterized using Arabidopsis mutants. Besides carrying out the research project, you will contribute to teaching MSc and BSc students.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Plant Physiology chair group which is led by Prof. Christa Testerink. You will be member of the Wageningen Seed Science Centre and be co-supervised by Prof dr Leónie Bentsink and Mariana Silva Artur.

You are / You have:

• obtained an MSc degree with a specialization in Plant Science;
• affinity and or experience with interdisciplinary research;
• creative and you work in a structured and focused way;
• experience in (plant) molecular biology approaches (including confocal microscopy);
• experience with experimental research on seeds is an advantage;
• an enthusiastic team player and have good communication and English language skills;
• willing to contribute to teaching MSc and BSc students.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

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

• 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 receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.872 - per month rising to € 3.670,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

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 19th 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.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands 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. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling.

Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & 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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below 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.