Assistant Professor of Cereals and Foodomics

The Department of Food Science, Section of Microbiology, Gut Health, and Fermentation, invites applicants for a 2-year Assistant Professor position in microbial community interactions. The fellowship will explore innovative approaches to reducing plant loss by using bacterial communities to enhance product longevity.

The assistant professor position is part of a research project funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation: ‘BIOBARRIER: Bacterial Communities to Reduce Plant Food Loss.’

https://researchleaderprogramme.com/recipients/henriette-lyng-roder/

The position is to be filled 15 February 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project

This project aims to understand and utilize the potential of multispecies bacterial communities to enhance plant protection and improve crop resilience. We will explore how bacterial competition, such as space colonization, nutrient uptake, and protective compound secretion, contributes to crop resilience. By filling the knowledge gap in multispecies protection, we hope to optimize beneficial microbial interactions, leading to more sustainable agricultural practices and longer shelf-life for food products. We will be working with potatoes as the initial crop model.

The postdoc will lead efforts to design and optimize multispecies bacterial communities for enhanced bioprotection against plant pathogens. Responsibilities include constructing a biobank of isolates from bacterial communities endogenous to the plants themselves, leveraging knowledge of potential symbiotic and ecological interactions between hosts and microbes. Additionally, the assistant professor will further curate the collection to include bacteria inherent to related traditional fermentations, known to be food safe. Subsequently, the isolates will be validated for effectiveness, and multispecies communities designed for effectively preventing soft rot, fine-tuning microbial community dynamics and environmental conditions for stable protection. The role also involves applying knowledge of evolutionary and ecological dynamics between multispecies microbial communities and plant hosts to enhance bioprotective effects. Multi-omics techniques, including metabarcoding, metagenomics, and metabolomics will be used to assess the structure and function of the communities. Ultimately, the project provides insight into how the multispecies community can enhance the resilience beneficial native potato microbiomes, as they move through the value chain to consumer shelves or primary production. This position offers an opportunity to contribute to innovative solutions in sustainable agriculture and food protection.

The Assistant Professor’s duties will also include teaching and supervising student projects, including BSc, MSc, and PhD. The post may also include performing other duties in the research group.

Section of Microbiology, Gut Health, and Fermentation

Section of Microbiology, Gut Health, and Fermentation is located in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. The section currently has ~50 members and offers an open, supportive environment for everyone to thrive. There will be a strong focus on work-life balance. At both department and university levels, yearly social and career-relevant events target Postdocs and you will also be part of our social events in the section. As a group member, you will participate in our biweekly section meetings, where you can present your work in a safe environment and engage in scientific discussions relevant to our field.

In the section, we work with a range of topics from gut health, food fermentation and starter culture functionality, food preservation, and spoilage, including biocontrol, microbial food safety and hygiene, gut microflora and probiotics in humans and animals, and microbiological quality assurance. The department hosts comprehensive infrastructure, well-equipped facilities, and extensive experience in community interactions and colloid research for food properties over decades.

Further information about the Department can be found at: http://www.science.ku.dk/english/about-the-faculty/organisation/.

Key Responsibilities

As an assistant professor in our group, you are expected to:

• Design and perform independent research in multispecies interactions.
• Apply evolutionary and ecological principles to designing multispecies communities for bioprotection.
• Integrate knowledge from both food microbiology and traditional food practices to develop an innovative bacterial community for bioprotection.
• Collaborate with other researchers and laboratory staff on ongoing projects.
• Use state-of-the-art metagenomics analyses to understand the multispecies communities through time
• Analyze and interpret experimental data and prepare manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
• Maintain detailed and accurate records of experiments and procedures.
• Present research findings at internal meetings, seminars, and scientific conferences.
• Communicate research findings with the public
• Stay updated with relevant scientific literature and advancements in the field.
• Engage with an interdisciplinary group of experts, both within academia and in the food system

Qualifications

We are looking for a highly motivated scientist with the following key qualifications:

• PhD or equivalent degree in biology, evolutionary ecology, or microbiology.
• Experience with cultivation and analysis of bacterial communities and curation of microbial biobanks
• Strong theoretical foundation in host-microbe interactions, social evolution, and microbial ecology
• Experience with food fermentations that engage bacterial communities
• Experience with bioinformatic analyses of bacterial genomes and meta-genomes

• Experience with evolution experiments, qPCR or ddPCR, and flow cytometry is a benefit

• Experience with doing data analysis in R- and/or Python.
• Experience writing and publishing peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts
• Experience in grant writing and framing larger projects in a group
• Good interpersonal skills, and experience with collaborative work in larger international teams.
• Strong communication skills
• Experience in working with different stakeholders in the food system and interdisciplinary research teams
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated, and adaptable
• Excellent English writing and speaking abilities.

Questions

For further information about the postdoc position, please contact Tenure Track Assistant Professor Henriette Lyng Røder [email protected]

Foreign applicants may find this link useful: www.ism.ku.dk (International Staff Mobility).

Place of employment

The place of employment is at the Department of Food Science (https://food.ku.dk/), University of Copenhagen. We offer stimulating working conditions in a dynamic and international research environment, with enriching scientific discussions, and access to cutting-edge facilities and equipment.

Terms of employment

The employment as postdoc is a full time and fixed-term position for 2 years. The position is open from 15th of February 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff.

Terms of appointment and payment is according to the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations of Academics in the State.

Negotiation for salary supplement is possible.

The application should be in English and must be submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Please include:

• Curriculum vitae
• Diplomas (MSc and PhD degrees or equivalent)
• Motivation / Research statement – description of previous/current research, your research ambitions, and how it relates to the advertised position
• Complete publication list
• Separate reprints of 3 particularly relevant papers
• Up to 3 reference letters

The deadline for applications is 15 January 2025 23:59 GMT +2.