Are you curious to understand the mechanosensing mechanisms involved in seed resilience? Do you want to investigate how seeds survive desiccation? Are you interested in performing research that combines seed physiology, molecular biology, biochemistry and ‘omics’ approaches? Are you motivated to do research and contribute to teaching and mentoring in a diverse team of scientists?

As part of the GreenTE Gravitation program, we are looking for a talented, motivated, and proactive postdoctoral researcher who is interested in unravelling the mechanosensing mechanisms of seed desiccation survival.

Producing dry seeds is vital for plants since it enables them to survive in harsh environmental conditions and it ensures that their species can thrive over time. Extreme loss of water (or desiccation) during seed development or germination is an important factor that affects seed survival, resilience, and storability. However, little is still known about how drying is sensed and integrated into seed developmental programs.
Within the GreenTE Gravitation program, you will work as a postdoctoral researcher in the ‘Seed Resilience Group’ to investigate how mechanical and biochemical signals trigged by drying affect the transcriptome (RNA-seq) and phosphoproteome during seed maturation and germination in Arabidopsis thaliana. Besides designing and conducting experiments, analyzing the results and writing scientific manuscripts, you will also have the opportunity to contribute with teaching and supervising MSc and BSc students.

You are / You have:

• a recently obtained a PhD degree in plant sciences, with a focus on molecular biology, developmental biology, biochemistry, or related fields,
• experience with detailed phenotyping and affinity with precision work in model species, such as molecular biology and microscopy techniques,
• interest or affinity with biophysical and/or biochemistry research in plants,
• experience with seed physiology experiments, phosphoproteomics, transcriptomics, and/or bioinformatics approaches are an advantage,
• excellent organizational and writing skills, work independently and reliably, and are proactive and enthusiastic for the project.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level C1.

If you do not yet have the track-record required in the vacancy, but do have solid work experience, we would also like to invite you to apply.

You will work here
You will work at the Seed Resilience Group led by Dr. Mariana Silva Artur, which is embedded in the Wageningen Seed Science Centre. Our group addresses fundamental questions related to seed survival in the dry state, contributing with knowledge to applied research related to seed biodiversity conservation, agriculture and food security. We are part of the Laboratory of Plant Physiology, whose interest lies on the mechanisms by which plants deal with their changing environment.

This project is part of the GreenTE Gravitation program, a multidisciplinary consortium of 7 Dutch universities who aims at unravelling how plants sense and respond to mechanical stimuli and to develop engineering interventions to improve plant regeneration, seed longevity 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.

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, 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 €3.345 and €5.278 for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). Initially, we offer you a one-year contract, which will then be extended to three years (in total) if there is mutual enthusiasm. Of course, we would be happy to discuss this with you if you have any questions.

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 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. 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 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.