Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science (PLEN) at University of Copenhagen is offering a PhD scholarship in Crop Physiology commencing 1 July 2021 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Project details

The successful applicant will be based in the Crop Stress Physiology group at Section of Crop Sciences. We have a dynamic and international research and teaching environment working on basic and applied crop sciences related to the interaction between G(enotype), E(nvironment) and M(anagement) as the basis of crop growth and production. Our group focuses on the physiological and biochemical regulation of growth and functioning of crop plants subjected to major abiotic stresses.

The PhD project is part of the international project “Dissecting climate robustness for sustainable wheat production (SUSWHEAT)” funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. In the context of climate change we know reasonably well how plants responds to single abiotic stresses but it is less clear how they cope with multiple concurrent stresses, which hinders targeted breeding for future climates. Drought and heat, two major co-occurring stresses caused by global climate change, induce opposing adaptive responses at the level of water use and carbon capture. Combining deep phenotyping with metabolic profiling to explore and exploit the existing variation in resilience, SUSWHEAT will reveal the underpinning physiological and metabolic mechanisms of yield stability. The PhD project will focus on how the energy, water and carbon balance of the photosynthetic machinery is affected by the combined stresses, where stomata are subjected to opposing regulatory signals, i.e. drought that triggers stomatal closure to prevent water loss and heat that triggers stomatal opening that enhances leaf cooling. The combination of gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence will be the core methods along with methods determining plant water relations characteristics.

Principal supervisor is Associate Professor, Eva Rosenqvist, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, [email protected], direct phone: +45 35 33 34 04.

Worth of Award

• Terms of appointment and payment accord to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State.
• The starting salary is currently at a minimum DKK 331,125 (approx. €43,750) including annual supplement (+ pension at a minimum DKK 53,811). Negotiation for salary supplement is possible.

Eligibility

The position is available for a 3-year period and your key tasks as a PhD student at SCIENCE are:

• To manage and carry through your research project
• Attend PhD courses
• Write scientific articles and your PhD thesis
• Teach and disseminate your research
• To stay at an external research institution for a few months, preferably abroad
• Work for the department

Formal requirements

• Applicants should hold an MSc degree in Biology, Agronomy, Crop Ecology, Horticulture or comparable with good results and good English skills.
• Your education should have a strong profile in plant physiology.
• Prior experience in plant water relation, gas exchange and/or chlorophyll fluorescence is a merit.
• As criteria for the assessment of your qualifications, emphasis will also be laid on previous publications (if any) and relevant work experience.

How to Apply

The application, in English, must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW.

Please include

• Cover Letter
• CV
• Diploma and transcripts of records (BSc and MSc)
• Other information for consideration, e.g. list of publications (if any)
• 1-3 reference letters (if any)

Reference letters must be uploaded by the applicant him/herself. The recruiting person must NOT obtain reference letters which content is not known to the applicant him/herself. This is against Danish law.

Deadline: Application closes February 28, 2021.

Click here for more details and to apply