Are you a Master’s graduate looking for fully funded PhD opportunities? Explore the range of funded PhD programs available at the Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands. Apply online now and kickstart your doctoral journey!
1. Fully Funded PhD Position in Evolution and innovation in eukaryotic genomes
Summary of PhD Program:
The emergence of the complex eukaryotic cell, which gave rise to infamous lineages like plants, animals and fungi, comprises one of the major outstanding questions in evolutionary biology. The past decade has brought large progress in identifying the prokaryotic origins of eukaryotes. In this development, our group discovered the Asgard archaea, eukaryotes’ closest prokaryotic relatives, marking an important inflection point.
Application Deadline: 31 October 2024
2. Fully Funded PhD Position in Hydro-bio-geomorphic controls on carbon storage in river systems
Summary of PhD Program:
As a PhD candidate your aim is to gain insights into how the hydro-geomorphic context influences the effects biota has on river-floodplain dynamics and carbon sequestration. You will identify the key locations for long-term carbon storage in river valleys, and you will quantify soil carbon sequestration in river reaches across a hydro-geomorphic gradient, ranging from mountainous/semi-confined to flat/unconfined segments. The project aims at considering carbon flux across various time scales (from millennial to seasonal), and hence gathers information on atmospheric and water carbon flux, as well as on past and present soil and biomass-related carbon content from the selected research sites.
Application Deadline: 11 November 2024
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3. Fully Funded PhD Position in Endometriosis Self-Management Strategies (EUrometriosis project)
Summary of PhD Program:
As PhD candidate you will conduct original research on endometriosis self-management and the structural barriers patients face. The project combines a focus on lived experiences with policy analysis. You will conduct empirical research with people living with endometriosis across Europe and policy analysis of relevant national or regional policies. You will be trained in relevant topical, theoretical and methodological expertise and skills. The research will result in peer-reviewed journal articles, which together will form your PhD thesis.
Application Deadline: 28 October 2024
4. Fully Funded PhD Position in Selenium biocrystallization and recovery
Summary of PhD Program:
Selenium, just like nitrogen and phosphorus, is an essential dietary element. However, when present at too high concentrations in surface water, it poses a threat to fish and birds. In many surface waters, both in the Netherlands and worldwide, the selenium concentration is too high. Selenium is released to surface water through various routes, such as via industry and agriculture. In addition, the element is scarce in many agricultural areas worldwide and has to be supplied as a fertilizer. Recovery therefore is essential. No chemical environmentally friendly technologies exists to remove the selenium from water, let alone recover it.
Application Deadline: 27 October 2024
5. Fully Funded PhD Position in Acoustic sensing of underwater plastic pollution in rivers and estuaries
Summary of PhD Program:
In this PhD research project you will develop a new method for measuring underwater plastic, by collecting and analyzing Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data from experiments under (semi-)controlled, and natural conditions. You will use this to (1) detect and distinguish the most common plastic items rivers, (2) estimate total plastic transport with ADCP and validate with reference net sampling measurements, and (3) estimate trends using long-term historical ADCP datasets. You will do this for rivers in the Netherlands and Asia. You will present the project results during meetings with project partners, at (inter)national conferences, and through peer-reviewed publications.
Application Deadline: 15 November 2024
6. Fully Funded PhD Position in Evolutionary Engineering of Synthetic Microbial Communities
Summary of PhD Program:
As a fully funded PhD candidate in the Systems & Synthetic Biology Chair Group, you will explore evolutionary engineering strategies to improve stability of synthetic microbial communities (SynCom). These SynComs are made by combining known microbes, and have a broad application potential in medical, biotechnological, and agricultural contexts. Stability is a fundamental property of SynComs; community members should coexist long-term with low variability, and the community should withstand & recover from perturbations. Despite the clear importance of this feature for SynCom applications, no strategies exist to design & engineer stability in SynComs. In this project, you will how (directed) evolution can improve SynCom resistance & tolerance to perturbations.
Application Deadline: 27 October 2024
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7. Fully Funded PhD Position in Chicken natural killer cells and avian influenza virus
Summary of PhD Program:
In this project you will investigate how avian influenza virus induces activation of chicken natural killer cells. You will work with newly developed antibodies and will investigate the the gene expression signature of chicken natural killer cell subsets in in chickens in presence and absence of avian influenza virus. Moreover, you will perform in vitro studies to explore the role of chicken NK cell receptors in the avian influenza virus induced activation of chicken NK cells. The knowledge obtained in this project will provide basic insights into the immune system of the chickens which in the future may lead to new approaches for vaccine design.
Application Deadline: 28 October 2024
8. Fully Funded PhD Position in Behavioural and ecological determinants of social strategies in great tits
Summary of PhD Program:
As a PhD student, you will contribute to novel insight into the social mechanisms underlying discovery and acquisition of food resources, social bonds and behavioural strategies using the great tit (Parus major) as model species. You will combine direct observations with novel technology, including smart feeders, tracking and automatic song recorders in the unique long-term NIOO-KNAW nestbox population in Westerheide, the Netherlands. The project will also include the opportunity to conduct aviary studies at the unique facilities of NIOO-KNAW. As a PhD candidate, you will play a pivotal role in organizing and conducting the field and aviary research.
Application Deadline: 2 December 2024
9. Fully Funded PhD Position in Nanotechnology to super-charge immune cells
Summary of PhD Program:
Our research group, led by Prof. Mangala Srinivas, has been investigating the use of nanoparticles for immune modulation over several years. This project will focus on loading immune cells with nanoparticles to alter their metabolism. You will co-culture these cells with 3D tumor spheroids and assess their impact using a variety of techniques, including cutting-edge imaging methods. In addition to working with cellular systems, you will use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to track and assess these immune cells over time, developing a longitudinal perspective on their behavior and impact. This project will allow you to acquire a broad set of skills and techniques. We also prioritise mental health and well-being within our research group, ensuring a supportive environment.
Application Deadline: 28 October 2024
10. Fully Funded PhD Position in recyclable polycarbonates by dynamic-covalent chemistry
Summary of PhD Program:
For a recently awarded research grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), we are looking for a PhD student to come and join our consortium. This DynaBranch consortium consists of partners from Wageningen University, Eindhoven University of Technology, Avans University of Applied Sciences, with SABIC as industrial partner. The aim of the program is to increase the recyclability of an important class of engineering plastics: polycarbonates. For this, we will (chemically) modify polycarbonates by dynamic-covalent chemistry. These new polymers will be combined with existing polycarbonate (as part of a recycling stream) to achieve (re)processing that is compatible with existing infrastructure.
Application Deadline: 3 November 2024
11. Fully Funded PhD Position in Predicting and monitoring healthy diets in Rwanda with big data
Summary of PhD Program:
Recently, a system for high-frequency monitoring of diet quality data was established in Rwanda, offering a unique opportunity to apply data science methods on a national scale, and develop an approach to enrich this data with data from other sources. The aim of this PhD research will be to use high-frequency self-reported data on diet quality in combination with other food system, climatic, agricultural and market related information, to identify the main determinants of a healthy diet and to achieve reliable predictions of the effects of nutrition interventions among rural and urban populations in Rwanda.
Application Deadline: 4 November 2024
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12. Fully Funded PhD Position in Data Justice and Governance for Food Security
Summary of PhD Program:
The project forms part of an interdisciplinary programme on food security intelligence in which a group of PhD researchers collaborate across different case studies in East and West African countries. The empirical insights of the project will contribute to a growing need to understand ethical governance processes in data generation and use, and how data governance can support meaningful knowledge production and circulation within this important domain. In addition, through participatory mechanisms you will generate insights into the data governance infrastructures and broader social mechanisms that are necessary to support equitable pathways to improved food security.
Application Deadline: 4 November 2024
13. Fully Funded PhD Position in Causal machine learning for sustainable smallholder farming in Africa
Summary of PhD Program:
The aim of this PhD research is to dive into causal machine learning methods and their applications in data sparse, heterogeneous smallholder farming systems in Africa. You will work together with stakeholders from the rice value chain of Senegal, and analyze extensive longitudinal farm-level observations that span across hundreds of smallholder farms and several years across an intensification gradient between Dagana and Podor.
Application Deadline: 4 November 2024
14. Fully Funded PhD Position in Combining physics of food science with data sciences for functionality prediction
Summary of PhD Program:
As a PhD student, you will work on the development of such predictive data science models by programming, and incorporating physics information into the model. You will work closely together with food scientists, physicists and data scientists. We expect you to be curious to explore relevant data science techniques and for you to be decisive to make a choice for the programming language you will use. The PhD project as a whole, will focus on using data science techniques to predict multi-scale food structure relationships. The project will explore the incorporation of physical models and information into neural networks.
Application Deadline: 17 November 2024
15. Fully Funded PhD Position in Effects of climate extremes and bud rot incidence on oil palm performance: Implications for economic sustainability
Summary of PhD Program:
We are seeking four highly motivated PhD students to join our team as part of the interdisciplinary Oil-Clips program (OIL-CLiPS – WUR), funded by Wageningen UR and its partners. The Oil-Clips program aims at unraveling the causes of disease outbreaks in oil palm plantations, focusing on Basal Stem Rot in Indonesia and Bud Rot in Colombia and how these are affected by changes in climate and farmer practices. These disease outbreaks are seen as an interplay between host, pathogen, human action, and environment. The recruited PhD candidates will investigate these relations by applying concepts and methods from at least two disciplines.
Application Deadline: 2 December 2024
16. 02 Fully Funded PhD Position in Cytoplasmic Inheritance in Plants
Summary of PhD Program:
Plastids and mitochondria are two key organelles responsible for energy conversion and metabolism in plants. To perform these tasks, plastids and mitochondria possess their own genetic material (known as cytoplasmic genomes), which encodes proteins necessary for essential cellular processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. Since the de novo biogenesis of plastids and mitochondria is not possible, these organelles must be inherited from one generation to the next. Therefore, the proper inheritance of these organelles, along with their cytoplasmic genomes, is crucial for the survival of the plant lineage. Interestingly, the inheritance patterns of cytoplasmic genomes differ significantly from nuclear DNA. Unlike the nuclear genome, which is inherited from both parents, plastid and mitochondrial genomes are passed down exclusively from the mother.
Application Deadline: 18 November 2024
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17. Fully Funded PhD Position in Plant root development
Summary of PhD Program:
This PhD position is part the national program CropXR’s core research. The subproject “The role of root plasticity in resilience” will run under supervision of Prof dr Christa Testerink in Wageningen. You will be working in a team together with other experimental and computational plant scientists. In this PhD project, you will focus on key genes and molecular pathways predicted to steer developmental plasticity of Arabidopsis roots under drought. Using novel mathematical modelling, network inference approaches and existing knowledge we will identify networks downstream of drought perception and establish how these impinge on and are integrated with basal root development. We will test the contribution of these networks to root architectural plasticity under water deficit stress.
Application Deadline: 18 November 2024
