Groepshoofd cluster Plantaardige Genetische Bronnen (PGR) van de WOT-unit CGN

Als hoofd van de Nederlandse plantengenenbank geef je richting aan het behoud van plantaardige genetische diversiteit. Daarmee draag je bij aan een toekomstbestendige landbouw, biodiversiteit en voedselzekerheid. Je combineert in deze functie strategisch leiderschap met inhoudelijke betrokkenheid bij onderzoek, innovatie en internationale samenwerking.

Binnen Wageningen Plant Research geef je als Groepshoofd leiding aan het cluster Plantaardige Genetische Bronnen (PGR) van het Centrum voor Genetische Bronnen Nederland (CGN). Je geeft leiding aan een team van 15–20 deskundige professionals en creëert de randvoorwaarden waarin zij hun expertise optimaal kunnen inzetten voor de wettelijke onderzoekstaken (WOT) van het CGN.

Tegelijkertijd ben je zelf actief als onderzoeker. Je leidt projecten, draagt bij aan onderzoek en bouwt actief aan nieuwe onderzoeksopdrachten en samenwerkingen. Zo verbind je wetenschappelijke inhoud, maatschappelijke opgaven en de ontwikkeling van het CGN.

Samen met de programmaleider en de andere clusterleiders van het CGN geef je vorm aan een sterke, onafhankelijke en toekomstgerichte uitvoering van de wettelijke onderzoekstaken. Je werkt daarbij samen met Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen Environmental Research en het ministerie van Landbouw, Visserij, Voedselzekerheid en Natuur (LVVN), evenals met nationale en internationale partners.

Jouw taken en verantwoordelijkheden als groepshoofd zijn:

• Leidt als boegbeeld het team aan de hand van een duidelijke teamstrategie, binnen de kaders van het WOT-Statuut en de Uitvoeringsovereenkomst van het WOT-programma Genetische Bronnen, in afstemming met de overige clusters van de WOT-units Genetische Bronnen in Wageningen.
• Bewaakt de programmatische onafhankelijkheid van het CGN als WOT-unit binnen WPR, PSG en WUR en rapporteert hierover aan het ministerie LVVN.
• Stuurt actief op een evenwichtige team samenstelling en optimale inzet van middelen, waarbij ambitie, capaciteit, competenties en kwaliteit van het team die aansluiten op de WOT- en onderzoektaken en de Strategische Agenda [link] van het instituut WPR.
• Verantwoordelijk voor de strategische ontwikkeling en prioritering van het projectportfolio, gericht op een toekomstbestendige positionering van het team en samenwerking binnen WOT Genetische Bronnen, de Strategische Agenda en de financiële kaders van WPR.
• Neemt actief deel aan acquisitie en projectmanagement en bewaakt de wetenschappelijke kwaliteit, integriteit, innovatie en het hoge kwaliteitsniveau van de genenbankactiviteiten, geborgd door ISO 9001-certificering.
• Coacht, motiveert en ontwikkelt medewerkers op basis van hun ambities, capaciteiten en competenties. Stimuleert samenwerking, duurzame inzetbaarheid en professionele ontwikkeling, met aandacht voor prestaties, welzijn en toekomstperspectief binnen de kaders van de WOT en de ontwikkelrichting van het instituut.
• Geeft als rolmodel actief richting aan samenhang, samenwerking, wetenschappelijke kwaliteit, diversiteit, sociale veiligheid en professionaliteit. Creëert een veilige, inclusieve en lerende werkomgeving waarin ruimte is voor dialoog, reflectie en ontwikkeling.

Jouw team
Je geeft leiding aan een team van 15–20 betrokken professionals met uiteenlopende expertise op het gebied van plantaardige genetische bronnen. Samen werken zij aan de missie van het CGN: de genetische diversiteit van voedselgewassen behouden en beschikbaar maken voor huidige én toekomstige gebruikers.

Het team bestaat onder meer uit gewascuratoren, genenbankexperts en onderzoekers. Zij werken aan het beheer en de instandhouding van genetisch materiaal, het stimuleren van het gebruik van gewassen, beleidsondersteuning en methodologisch onderzoek.

Als clusterleider WOT rapporteer je aan het hoofd WOT Genetische Bronnen. Als groepshoofd binnen WPR rapporteer je aan een van de instituutsmanagers.

Hier ga je werken
Deze functie maakt deel uit van de groepshoofden community van het Wageningen Plant Research (WPR) instituut in Wageningen. De groepshoofden community is verantwoordelijk voor het functioneren van de onderzoeksteams, zodat strategische ambities worden vertaald naar samenhangende plannen, effectieve uitvoering en optimale inzet van mensen, faciliteiten en ondersteuning. Het Instituut Managementteam (IMT) is verantwoordelijk voor WPR als geheel en het groepshoofd is verantwoordelijk voor de bijdrage hieraan van het eigen team, in afstemming en samenwerking met de andere onderzoekteams.

Post-doc in Molecular genetics of tomato mineral nutrient status

How to best incorporate New Genomic Techniques to solve challenging issues in plant breeding? The recent approval by the European Parliament of new legislation to allow application of gene editing approaches in plant breeding, offers new opportunities to address this. One such challenge is to improve complex traits such as crop tolerance to dynamic environmental conditions in the current era of global climate change and how to best incorporate this in plant breeding strategies.

Anticipating the new legislation, the INPROBED project has been granted, which aims to precisely identify and modify cis-regulatory elements and transcription factor genes that control key physiological pathways to specifically adjust targeted gene expression to reshape complex traits.

The project will develop a breakthrough science-enabled technology platform to improve tomato heat, drought and nutrient deficiency tolerance and the nutritional status of tomato fruits for human health. In this project, you will investigate the tomato response to Zn and Fe deficiency and design strategies to improve the Zn/Fe nutritional status of tomatoes for human health.

You will generate dedicated (single-cell) transcriptional data sets feeding into the MNase-defined cistrome occupancy (MOA-seq) analysis of transcription factor binding of tomato promoter elements controlling the Zn and Fe deficiency responsive gene expression. You will design specific constructs to edit transcription factor genes and their target promoters, and analyse the effects of optimized gene expression regulation on plant performance under optimal and field-like conditions at the Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre. Your research aims to improve tomato Zn and Fe uptake under regular field conditions and to enhance the Zn and Fe nutritional status of tomato fruits.

INPROBED is part of the prestigious European Innovation Council (EIC) Pathfinder Challenge programme addressing innovative biotechnology for climate resilient crops. It brings together excellent expertise from world-leading European research institutions and companies. You will work closely together with researchers across the consortium to predict and edit targeted gene promoters, to design relevant constructs for gene editing and to evaluate the gene-edited plants to establish this topic firmly into the plant breeding domain.

Within Wageningen University, you will be embedded in the Laboratory of Genetics of the Plant Sciences Group, and collaborate with researchers and thesis students investigating the genetic basis of plant adaptation to the environment, focusing on plant nutrition, metal tolerance and photosynthesis. Your research is expected to deliver fundamental insights into the genetic regulation of tomato gene expression and provide strong experimental validation of the technology platform to improve complex crop traits through gene editing of gene expression regulators.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• To design the experimental setup for gene expression analysis of tomato response to Zn and Fe deficiency, and of Zn and Fe loading into the developing fruit.
• The biological interpretation of MOA-seq analysis with respect to the tomato response to Zn and Fe deficiency.
• The experimental validation of gene-edited tomato plants with respect to plant growth and development and their ionome under optimal, natural and mineral-stress conditions.
• To establish a fruitful collaboration with international partners in the project and to supervise a part-time technician on the project.
• To write manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals reporting on the results of your research.

Your team
You will work with international partners in the project and with other members in the Botanical Genetics team of the Laboratory of Genetics of Wageningen University, which is led by Prof. Mark Aarts You will work in close collaboration with a technician to be appointed on the project.

You will work here
Wageningen UR has a global reputation for its ground-breaking research and innovative education in the fields of food and health, sustainable agrosystems, the rural environment, and societal development - all of which make an essential contribution to the quality of life, i.e. the supply of safe and healthy food and drink, on the one hand, and the chance to live, work and play in a balanced ecosystem with a large variety of plants and animals on the other. Within Wageningen UR, the Plant Sciences Group brings together science education and scientific, strategic and applied research in the fields of biology, of plants in relation to their environment, of plant-related organisms and of plant production. The Laboratory of Genetics is interested in heredity in general, in particular the origin, architecture and consequences of genetic variation of a wide range of organisms across the biological kingdoms.

Head of the Dutch Plant Genetic Resources Genebank

As Head of the Dutch Plant Genetic Resources Genebank, you will provide strategic direction for the conservation of plant genetic diversity. In doing so, you will contribute to resilient agriculture, biodiversity and food security. This role combines strategic leadership with hands-on involvement in research, innovation and international collaboration.

Within Wageningen Plant Research, you will lead the Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) cluster of the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN). As Group head, you will manage a team of 15–20 highly skilled professionals and create the conditions in which they can make the best possible use of their expertise in delivering CGN’s statutory research tasks (WOT).

At the same time, you will remain active as a researcher. You will lead projects, contribute to research, and actively develop new research opportunities and collaborations. In this way, you will connect scientific expertise with societal challenges and the further development of CGN.

Together with the Programme Leader and the other CGN Cluster Leaders, you will help shape a strong, independent and future-oriented approach to delivering the statutory research tasks. You will work closely with Wageningen Livestock Research, Wageningen Environmental Research and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), as well as with national and international partners.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Lead the team as its figurehead, based on a clear team strategy, within the framework of the WOT Statute and the Implementation Agreement for the WOT Genetic Resources programme, in coordination with the other clusters within the Genetic Resources WOT units in Wageningen.
• Safeguard the programme independence of CGN as a WOT unit within WPR, PSG and WUR, and report on this to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN).
• Actively ensure a balanced team composition and optimal deployment of resources, aligning the team’s ambitions, capacity, expertise and quality with the WOT and research tasks and with the WPR Institute’s Strategic Agenda.
• Take responsibility for the strategic development and prioritisation of the project portfolio, ensuring the team is positioned for the future and that its activities are aligned with WOT Genetic Resources, the Strategic Agenda and WPR’s financial frameworks.
• Actively participate in business development and project management, while safeguarding scientific quality and integrity, innovation, and the high-quality standards of the genebank activities, underpinned by ISO 9001 certification.
• Coach, motivate and develop employees in line with their ambitions, capabilities and competencies. Encourage collaboration, sustainable employability and professional development, with attention to performance, wellbeing and future career prospects within the framework of the WOT and the institute’s strategic direction.
• As a role model, actively promote cohesion, collaboration, scientific quality, diversity, psychological safety and professionalism. Create a safe, inclusive and learning-oriented working environment in which there is room for dialogue, reflection and development.

Your team
You will lead a team of 15–20 committed professionals with a wide range of expertise in plant genetic resources. Together, they work towards CGN’s mission: to conserve the genetic diversity of food crops and make it available to users today and in the future.

The team includes crop curators, genebank experts and researchers. Their work covers the management and conservation of genetic material, promoting the use of crops, providing policy support, and conducting methodological research.

As WOT Cluster Leader, you will report to the Head of WOT Genetic Resources in Wageningen. As Group head within WPR, you will report to one of the Institute Managers.

You will work here
This position is part of the Group head community within Wageningen Plant Research (WPR) in Wageningen. The Group head community is responsible for the effective functioning of the research teams, ensuring that strategic ambitions are translated into coherent plans, effective implementation, and the optimal deployment of people, facilities and support.

The Institute Management Team (IMT) is responsible for WPR as a whole. As Group head, you will be responsible for your team’s contribution to this, working in close coordination and collaboration with the other research teams.

Student-assistent VU Law Academy

Als student-assistent maak je deel uit van de Servicehoek van VU Law Academy (VULaw). Je bent het gastvrije gezicht van onze cursussen en leergangen en zorgt er samen met de andere student-assistenten voor dat alles achter de schermen soepel verloopt. Ook draag je bij aan het samenstellen van cursusmateriaal en ondersteun je bij uiteenlopende werkzaamheden.

Jouw taken:

• hosten bij leergangen en cursussen
• administratieve werkzaamheden
• samenstellen van syllabi/cursusmateriaal
• assisteren bij diverse werkzaamheden

PhD: Spatial Optimization of Land Use in Brazil

The MATOPIBA region in the Brazilian Cerrado is of major national and global importance: it is one of South America’s most agriculturally productive landscapes, a biodiversity hotspot, and home to Indigenous people, Quilombola, smallholder farmers, and large agribusinesses among others. Therefore, future land use strategies in MATOPIBA require balancing agricultural production with biodiversity conservation and social justice, while also accounting for effects of climate change. In this position, you will contribute to such land use strategies by quantifying the synergies and trade-offs between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation for different land use configurations and stakeholder preferences. Hereto, you will compute Pareto frontiers with spatial optimization algorithms.

More specifically, you will:

• Travel to Brazil to interact with various stakeholders in land use in MATOPIBA;
• Translate stakeholders’ preferences in terms of ‘productive agriculture’ and ‘healthy biodiversity’ into quantifiable impact indicators;
• Develop a spatial optimization algorithm that finds land use configurations that optimize these indicators;
• Compute Pareto frontiers under different climate and socio-economic scenarios to evaluation the robustness of land use solutions for all stakeholder groups; and
• Write academic articles and policy documents that summarize the above to generate and disseminate knowledge on the possible pathways to sustainable land use futures in MATOPIBA.

This PhD position is part of the project “Frontiers of MATOPIBA landscapes”, which examines how agricultural production and biodiversity conservation can be balanced in Brazil’s MATOPIBA region under future climate and socio-economic conditions. It has the aim to support evidence-based decisions to form sustainable, just, climate-resilient land use strategies that protect biodiversity, food security, and local livelihoods. The project is fully funded through the Dutch Research Agenda and the Brazilian research council CNPq. Within the project, you will closely collaborate with another PhD candidate at Utrecht University on stakeholder perspectives, several consortium members in Brazil, and the Department of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University.