PhD opportunity in agroecology focusing on plant adaptations and ethylene signalling at Aarhus University

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 1 January 2027 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title
ComPASS - Compaction-driven mechanisms of Plant Adaptations and Signalling: the role of ethylene in root responses

Research area and project description
The overarching objective of the project is to provide a fundamental understanding of how physical processes occurring in the vicinity of root tips influence root growth via ethylene signalling. The project entails laboratory experiments during which plants/genotypes of different ethylene sensitivity will be grown under controlled conditions on different soils. The soils will be chosen in order to cover a range of textures and bulk densities (compaction treatments). After the growth period, pots will be scanned with X-ray CT to characterize root traits and root-soil physical interactions (root-soil contact, rhizosphere structure) non-destructively in 3D. RNA sequencing will be performed on root tip tissues in order to identify expressed genes and signalling pathways that are affected as a response of changes in soil properties. This project is a collaboration between Aarhus University, the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Halle (Germany) and the University of Nottingham (UK). Place of employment is in the Department of Agroecology of AU. The PhD student will be expected to participate in research stays in at least one of these two collaborating institutions.

• 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 must have a relevant Master’s degree (120 ECTS) or at least one year of a Master’s degree in disciplines such as Soil Science, Agronomy, Agroecology, or other fields related to the Natural Sciences.

Furthermore, we will prefer candidates with:

• Experience in conducting plant growth experiments in climate chambers
• Insights on root-soil physical interaction processes
• Basic programming skills, with a focus on digital image processing
• Excellent communication in English, both written or oral
  

Place of employment and place of work
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is AU – Foulum, Blichers Allé 20, 8830 Tjele Postboks 50, Denmark.

Contacts
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Tenure Track Assistant Professor Maxime Phalempin, maxph@agro.au.dk (project owner)
• Professor Lars J. Munkholm, lars.munkholm@agro.au.dk (main supervisor)
  

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk
  

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

Application deadline is 8 October 2026 23:59 CEST. Preferred starting date is 1 January 2027.

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.

 

INFORMATIONER OM STILLINGEN:

- Arbejdspladsen ligger i:

Viborg Kommune

-Virksomheden tilbyder:

-Arbejdsgiver:

Afgrødesundhed, Blichers Allé, 8830 Tjele

-Ansøgning:

Ansøgningsfrist: 08-10-2026;

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