PhD: Computational Catalyst Design

Do you want to shape the future of sustainability? We are seeking a highly self-motivated PhD candidate to join our team working on atomic level catalyst design and reaction mechanism of CO2 and CO hydrogenation processes.

The project focuses on understanding of reaction mechanisms and establishing structure–reactivity relationships in CO2 and CO heterogeneous catalysis using a combination of DFT, AIMD, and machine-learning potential driven MD. The PhD position is embedded in a broader research consortium working on green hydrogen and electrons for carbon-based chemistry. This project will have a close collaboration with experimental and industrial catalysis partners.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• atomic-scale modeling of heterogeneous catalysis of CO2 and CO hydrogenation reaction;
• reaction mechanisms, kinetics, and dynamics under realistic conditions;
• development and application of machine-learning methods;
• supervision of thesis students and teaching assistance.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Biobased Chemistry and Technology, and member of the Computational Catalysis and Surface Chemistry team, which is led by Dr. Guanna Li.

PhD Position: Nutrition, Exercise and Biological Ageing

Are you interested in how nutrition and exercise can be used to slow biological ageing? Do you want to contribute to an ambitious national research programme that combines nutrition science, exercise physiology, omics technologies and data science to improve healthy ageing?

As a PhD candidate in the BIO-COMPaSS consortium, you will investigate how nutrition and exercise influence biological ageing and how personalised lifestyle interventions can be developed using biological age indicators, biomarkers and advanced omics technologies. You will combine data analysis with intervention research and collaborate with researchers, healthcare professionals and societal partners across the Netherlands.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• analysing dietary intake, physical activity, biomarker and omics data in relation to biological age indicators;
• investigating how metabolomic, proteomic and other biological markers respond to nutrition and exercise interventions;
• developing data-driven approaches to support personalised nutrition and exercise advice;
• designing, obtaining ethical approval for, and conducting a personalised lifestyle intervention study;
• publishing research findings in peer-reviewed journals and presenting results at national and international conferences.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Human Nutrition and Health chair group and the Nutritional Biology team, which is led by Prof. Kerensa Broersen. The project is part of the BIO-COMPaSS consortium, a large national research programme funded through the Netherlands Science Agenda (NWA). You will be supervised by Dr. Pol Grootswagers, Dr. Rob Wüst (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Prof. Renger Witkamp.

BIO-COMPaSS (BIOlogical age-driven, COMmunal, Personalised System for Sustainable health promotion) is a research consortium exploring how feedback on biological age can motivate healthier sustainable habits. It aims to identify and validate aging biomarkers, understand how psychological and social factors influence lifestyle choices, develop personalized exercise and nutrition plans, and test how to implement these in Dutch society. Supported by data science, sensors, and real-world studies, the project seeks to create a sustainable, personalized health system. The close collaboration between citizens, scientists and companies is unique. The approach offers the prospect of a future in which prevention and personal health play a central role in the healthcare system. The project is funded through the Netherlands Science Agenda (NWA) program. To learn more about the research or the organizations involved, you can visit the website https://bio-compass.nl.

You will collaborate closely with PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers and consortium partners from a broad range of disciplines including nutrition, exercise science, data science, behavioural sciences and ageing research.

PhD: Genomic and genetic variation underlying temperature responses

Do you have a keen interest in genetics and the adaptational abilities of plants and like to involve the general public in your science? Are you skilled in applying cutting-edge genomics and phenomics tools and want to understand nature’s solutions to deal with a changing environment? Do you want to apply these skills in establishing snowdrops as a model for temperature responsiveness? We may have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Laboratory of Nematology at Wageningen University & Research is seeking a motivated and curiosity-driven PhD researcher to join the genomics team. You will be part of an interdisciplinary and collaborative team consisting of both experimentalists and bioinformaticians. Together with the Plant Stress Resilience group of Utrecht University, we recently obtained funding to investigate temperature responsiveness in Snowdrop (Galanthus spp.) and A. thaliana. In this project, we are looking for a PhD researcher to develop and apply genetic, genomic (e.g. Iso-Seq and RNAseq) and phenomics tools to model temperature dose-responsiveness in Snowdrops. A main aim will be to generate a reference transcriptome for this iconic species, as none exists yet. You will work together with a PhD researcher at Utrecht university (who will focus on A. thaliana) to develop, conduct and analyze experiments in the Netherlands Plant Eco-Phenotyping Center (NPEC). Early in the project you will set-up a citizen science project and do some field work to acquire a diversity panel of Snowdrop accessions that you will use throughout your project.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Conducting transcriptomic analyses (Iso-Seq, RNAseq) and disclose natural genetic variation in iconic Snowdrops
• Obtaining and analysis of phenotypic data via NPEC
• Modelling of phenotypic and transcriptomic responses to temperature dose
• Conduct a citizen science approach to collect snowdrop varieties needed for the project

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Laboratory of Nematology led by prof. Geert Smant. Your daily supervisor will be Dr. Mark Sterken, who has expertise on non-model species genetics and genomics. Work within the Wageningen team is supported by two technicians (for experimental work and bioinformatics) and within the group there are multiple PhD candidates. You will work closely together with the ‘temperature team’ of the Plant Stress Resilience group of Utrecht University, led by dr. Martijn van Zanten, where you will be hosted for the citizen science- and phenomics aspects of the project. Your research will be embedded in the Graduate school of Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS).

PhD position: Biodiversity Perceptions of European Citizens and Stakeholders

Are you interested in how European citizens and stakeholders perceive nature and biodiversity, how this influences attitudes and behaviour, and how this relates to identity, polarisation, and backlash of environmental politics? Do you want to investigate this using large scale European, national and regional questionnaires and translate outcomes into communication approaches and policy recommendations? We have an exciting PhD position as part of the Horizon Europe project BIOLOGUE, where you will collaborate with major European Universities and NGO’s.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Co-develop a conceptual framework to understand biodiversity perceptions and its behavioural consequences.
• Develop, coordinate, and analyse survey instruments at European, National and regional levels.
• Collaborate with scientific partners across Europe to contextualise the survey instrument you developed.
• Contribute to linking survey approaches to social media analysis.
• Write scientific papers about results.
• Translate and discuss outcomes with stakeholder groups, NGOs and policy makers.

What we are looking for: a candidate who is highly motivated to study the plural values of nature and conservation attitudes across European countries and local communities. Your ambition is to use social science research to advance sustainability transformations and the successful and equitable implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation in Member States. You are interested to conduct large-scale quantitative survey research among citizens and stakeholders across European countries as well as in case-study areas to understand how values, attitudes, emotions and identities inform discussion over conservation policies and management, including polarisation and conflicts between local actors (e.g., landowners, farmers) and conservation advocates. You are keen to collaborate with stakeholders, NGOs and policymakers to translate results into actionable strategies to improve biodiversity communication and implication. You are skilled and experienced in multivariate statistical analysis of empirical (social science) data.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group. You will be supervised by Dr. Arjen Buijs and co-supervised by Dr Marko Lovric.

Editorial staff member Groen Kennisnet

Are you someone who can effortlessly extract the essence from an abundance of information? Do you have an affinity for debt collection and the ability to communicate complex subject matter clearly to different target audiences? Then this is a position that will certainly appeal to you. You will join an intellectually challenging role with plenty of opportunities to apply and further develop your expertise. In return, you can expect not only an attractive salary, but also a high degree of flexibility, including the possibility to work partly from home.

For Groen Kennisnet (GKN) we are looking for an editorial staff member. In this role, you will filter information and gather relevant sources related to the green sector. You will write concise, to-the-point news articles based on these sources and create newsletters for the green sector and education, often focusing on current reports. In addition, you will work closely with colleagues and stakeholders from the green sector to ensure that information is presented effectively on our website and those of our partners.

As an editorial assistant, you are closely involved in all aspects of GKN's services. In concrete terms, the work will be as follows:

• You manage target group-oriented homepages about Food and Biobased Economy, compile dossiers and write news items. This also includes website management;
• You will unlock knowledge in collaboration with partners such as project teams, practice representatives and educational institutions in the green domain;
• You support colleagues in the field of relationship management and communication (e.g. social media, webinars, podcasts, etc.);
• You answer questions via service desk, mail and chat;
• You think along about how our target groups can best be reached online and about the further development of our website.

Groen Kennisnet is the platform for knowledge sharing within the green sector. With more than 500,000 sources of knowledge, GKN is the largest Dutch-language collection of up-to-date and reliable sources of knowledge for the domain of food and greenery. GKN facilitates farmers, researchers, teachers and students in accessing, searching and finding knowledge sources and learning materials in the field of food and greenery. You will work in a compact team.