Clover Fatigue: Underlying causes, mechanisms and mitigation strategies

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Agroecology programme. The position is available from 01 July 2025 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title:
Clover Fatigue: Underlying causes, mechanisms and mitigation strategies

Research area and project description:
We are inviting candidates interested in a PhD study that will investigate the causes and mechanisms of clover fatigue using omics technologies.
Clover soil fatigue (CSF) is a phenomenon associated with poor clover growth in repeated monoculture, resulting in significant yield losses. Although we do not fully understand how CSF occurs, we hypothesize that a combination of soil-borne pathogens and cyst nematodes, affected by root exudation complexes are key drivers of CSF. To test these hypotheses, we will examine clover host exudation, soil/plant microbiome and soil biochemistry to identify factors responsible for the progressive decline of soils under intensive clover cultivation. We will employ current omics techniques such as next-generation sequencing and metabolomics and integrate these datasets using advanced computation and statistics to dissect the mechanisms behind CSF.
The project combines both fundamental and practical research activities and involves collaborations with researchers and farmers. Among your first tasks will be sampling of soils from farmers’ fields across Denmark, and to perform clover variety screening in pot experiments in semi-field and greenhouse conditions.

Finally, you will also test whether different cropping practices minimize CSF and promote sustainable clover production.
As part of your training, you will be given the opportunity to develop relevant skills in both scientific (data analysis, lab skills, scientific writing etc.) and non-scientific (communication, project management) areas.

The PhD position is based in a rural setting close to Slagelse within the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University. Your supervisors will be Professor Mogens Nicolaisen and Assistant Professor Enoch Narh Kudjordjie, and you will be working in a vibrant team of researchers studying different aspects of plant-microbe interactions.

Project description: For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants to the PhD position must have a relevant Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in Biology or similar and have a strong interest in plants, soil and microorganisms. Knowledge about bioinformatics, statistics and experience with R, Python or similar software will be advantages.
You will be trained and supported in the different aspects of the project.

We expect that you:

• are motivated to acquire and develop strong computational and analytical skills
• are interested in field and molecular laboratory work
• are able to write scientific articles
• are ambitious, enthusiastic and eager to learn
• can work both independently and in close collaboration with technical and scientific staff at all levels

Good collaborative skills are required, and you are expected to contribute fully to the large, diverse and highly active microbial ecology research group that you will become part of. We also expect you to be able to communicate in both written and oral English.

Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Institut for Agroøkologi, Plantepatologi og Mikrobiologi, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200 Slagelse, Danmark.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact:

• Mogens Nicolaisen, [email protected] (main supervisor)
• Enoch Narh Kudjordjie, [email protected] (co-supervisor)

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 31 January 2025 at 23:59 CET

Preferred starting date is 01 July 2025

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.