PhD position: Genetic basis of yield stability in barley under drought

Interested in how crops maintain stable yields under both optimal and drought conditions? A PhD position within the Allrounder project - Dissecting the genetic basis of natural variation in root and shoot architecture as basis for breeding climate-resilient barley - might be suited for you!

In a collaborative project between Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) we are looking for two enthusiastic PhD candidates to investigate how wild barley, the wild relative of cultivated barley, can maintain stable yield across both optimal and drought conditions. The projects focus on (PhD1) below-ground development (WUR), and (PhD2) above-ground growth and yield responses to water limitation (NIOO-KNAW/WUR).

Using a high-throughput root phenotyping facility and a diverse panel of wild barley accessions, you will study how root architecture and shoot traits influence plant performance under different water conditions. By combining phenotyping with genetic approaches such as GWAS and candidate gene analysis, the project aims to identify what makes the wild progenitor of barley resilient: what traits and alleles support stable yield across environments? Ultimately, this research will contribute to the development of barley varieties that perform reliably under both optimal and water-limited conditions - true “allrounder” crops for future climates.

Your role
PhD1 (WUR):

• Together with other project members, you will design and execute controlled-environment experiments, including root phenotyping in barley diversity panels under different water regimes, and perform GWAS analyses to identify loci associated with root development and architecture.
• You will investigate the developmental genetic basis of root architecture using molecular and cellular analyses, including histology, microscopy, transcriptomics, and mutant analysis. You will also generate CRISPR/Cas mutants and use transformation approaches to validate candidate genes.
• You will analyze and integrate multi-modal datasets using quantitative/statistical and bioinformatics approaches.
• You will coordinate collaboration by managing cross-team experiments.
• You will write and publish your research in leading scientific journals and communicate your findings through your PhD thesis and via broader societal outreach.

PhD2 (NIOO-KNAW/WUR) go to:

You will work here
This research is embedded in three collaborating research groups at Wageningen University and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology in Wageningen (NIOO-KNAW). PhD1 will be appointed at WUR and will be based in the Laboratory of Cell and Developmental Biology (Wageningen University; Prof. Viola Willemsen and Dr. Anneke Horstman). (PhD2 will be appointed at NIOO-KNAW and will be jointly supervised by the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Wageningen University; Dr. Wilma van Esse) and NIOO-KNAW (Prof. Koen Verhoeven)).The two PhD candidates will work closely together within this interdisciplinary project.

Junior Liaison Officer

As a Junior Liaison Officer, you support researchers and project leaders in national and international subsidy and tender processes. You assist them in preparing proposals in a well-structured manner—organizationally, financially, and procedurally—ensuring they meet the requirements of funding bodies. You operate at the intersection of content, finance, and regulations. In this role, you work independently on multiple files, but you also collaborate closely with colleagues within the Liaison Office and regularly coordinate with Finance & Control and Legal Affairs. Within a short period, you develop into a fully-fledged discussion partner for researchers in the field of grants and project applications. Fixed office days on Thursdays and Fridays are required, while the remaining days can be arranged in consultation, with the option to work remotely for part of the week.

Your tasks and responsibilities include:

• Advising researchers and project leaders on the preparation and submission of grant and tender applications (organizational, financial, and procedural aspects).
• Acting as a liaison between researchers, Finance & Control, Legal Affairs, and external funding providers.
• Analyzing funding schemes and assessing their applicability to research projects and collaborative partnerships.
• Supporting the drafting and submission of project proposals, including all required documentation.
• Monitoring deadlines and ensuring a careful and timely submission process.
• Collaborating with colleagues within the Liaison Office and coordinating with relevant internal stakeholders.

Your team
You will be part of the Liaison Office & Legal Affairs team within the Environmental Sciences Group (ESG) at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). We support researchers and project leaders in realizing impactful, internationally oriented research. Our team combines legal expertise with support in grants and collaborative partnerships. We operate in a compact, professionally structured environment with short lines of communication, where independence and teamwork go hand in hand. Within the Liaison Office, you will work closely with colleagues from Legal Affairs, Finance & Control, and the research community.

Paralegal

As a paralegal, you provide broad support to colleagues within the organization in the drafting of agreements and other documents. In doing so, you contribute to preventing (legal) questions and issues. In addition, you carry out diverse tasks within the field of self-management and maintain your own case portfolio. You act as the connecting factor between internal stakeholders and Legal Affairs, and you know how to find your way within a complex organization.

Your tasks and responsibilities include:

• Drafting and reviewing legal (standard/template) agreements and handling them, potentially in collaboration with the lawyer(s);
• Advising colleagues in advance;
• Managing correspondence with various (internal) clients;
• Handling legal files, both simple and administrative;
• Contributing to the translation of various developments within the organization;
• Taking over the duties of our administrative staff member during their absence.

Your team
You will be part of the Legal Affairs & Liaison Office team within the Environmental Sciences Group (ESG) at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). A driven, ambitious team with a strong growth mindset, a passion for law, and a pragmatic approach to solutions.

Here you will work
We challenge you to deliver for inspiring stakeholders at both national and international levels. We strive to provide an informal atmosphere and give everyone the space to grow, both professionally and personally. We believe that an open environment and direct communication bring out the best in everyone.

Researcher Food Chains

As a Researcher food chains, you will work on improving sustainable food chains. You will contribute to projects aimed at reducing food loss and associated emissions, quantitatively estimating sustainability impact, and to broader issues related to the design and sustainability of food chains. You will do this in projects in the Netherlands, but also in Europe and in low- and middle-income countries, such as Ethiopia, Indonesia and Mexico. From Wageningen, you will work together with the project team to develop solutions that make chains more sustainable, robust and efficient. Within the Supply Chain Development expertise group, you will work on analysing and assessing interventions in food chains. You combine quantitative analyses with systems thinking and translate insights into practical and feasible solutions. The impact in practice is central to this. The role is varied and often consists of a combination of literature research, analysis and reporting, contributions to workshops with (Dutch) third parties and stakeholder processes, and fieldwork. You will work in both a Dutch and international context and travel within and outside Europe several times a year.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Analysing food chains and assessing interventions aimed at sustainability
• Performing quantitative and qualitative analyses, for example in the areas of cost, quality, emissions and sustainability impact
• Performing (pre-)feasibility analyses and scenario analyses
• Contributing to policy briefs and developing tools and training materials
• Contributing to workshops, stakeholder processes and implementation issues
• Contributing to data collection, fieldwork and project outputs, such as project reports, reports, presentations and other products agreed with clients
• Supporting senior and medior researchers in project execution and the practical design of projects.

You are interested in food chains and in connecting analysis to application and implementation. In time, you will develop towards an independent role in projects and analyses.

The team you will be working in
You will work within the Supply Chain Development expertise group. This group supports organizations worldwide in analyzing, designing and improving sustainable food chains through data collection, analysis and the development and assessment of interventions. Work is being done on, among other things, food loss reduction, making chains more sustainable and system innovations, including logistics optimisation, in both a Dutch and international context.

You will work here
The ecosystems of WUR, Wageningen Campus and beyond offer numerous opportunities for collaboration on innovative developments and solutions. That is why we are looking for a team player with a focus on application and with a proactive attitude and a talent for bringing partners together. Examples of clients include industrial organizations, such as ingredient suppliers and food companies, government agencies and combinations thereof in public-private partnerships.

Researcher quantitative supply chain analyses

Are you passionate about quantitative analyses and improvement of supply chains?
Do you like an international focus and multidisciplinary work environment?

We have a vacancy for a researcher quantitative supply chain analyses. Will you join us?

As a researcher quantitative supply chain analyses, you will work on analysing and improving sustainable food chains based on data. One of your focuses will be on projects aimed at quantifying and reducing food waste and associated sustainability impact, and on broader issues surrounding the design and sustainability of food chains. You will often work in international projects in low- and middle-income countries, such as Ethiopia, Mexico and Indonesia, but also in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. From Wageningen, you use quantitative analyses to better understand chains and make them more sustainable, efficient and robust.

Within the Supply Chain Development expertise group, you will contribute to quantifying and improving performance in food chains, with a focus on food loss reduction, emission reduction and economic analyses, among other things. You will work on collecting, analysing and interpreting data, with quantitative methods and models and practical application at the centre.

The role is varied and often consists of a combination of literature research, analysis and reporting, contributions to workshops and (Dutch) stakeholder processes, and fieldwork. You will work in both a Dutch and international context and travel within and outside Europe several times a year.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Collecting, structuring and analyzing data from different sources
• Performing quantitative and statistical analyses, for example in terms of costs, quality, emissions and sustainability impact
• Performing (pre-)feasibility analyses, market research, scenario analyses and economic analyses
• Applying statistical and quantitative methods and models
• Contributing to (Dutch) policy documents and developing tools, methodologies and training materials
• Contributing to workshops, stakeholder processes and implementation issues
• Contributing to data collection, fieldwork and project outputs, such as project reports, reports, presentations and other products agreed with clients
• Supporting senior and medior researchers in project execution and the practical design of projects

You are interested in food chains and in connecting analysis to application and implementation. In time, you will develop towards an independent role in projects and analyses.

The team you will be working in
You will work within the Supply Chain Development expertise group. This group supports organizations worldwide in analyzing, designing and improving sustainable food chains through data collection, analysis and the development and assessment of interventions. Work is being done on, among other things, food loss reduction, making chains more sustainable and system innovations, including logistics optimisation, in both a Dutch and international context.

You will work here
The ecosystems of WUR, Wageningen Campus and beyond offer numerous opportunities for collaboration on innovative developments and solutions. That is why we are looking for a team player with a focus on application and with a proactive attitude and a talent for bringing partners together. Examples of clients include industrial organizations, such as ingredient suppliers and food companies, government agencies and combinations thereof in public-private partnerships.