PhD Position in the Role of Cell Identity in Shaping Plant Stress Responses

Utrecht University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology

Passionate about plant stress responses, molecular biology, and bioinformatics? Join our lab as PhD candidate and investigate why unique plant cells respond so differently to the same environmental stimuli. You’ll gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge single-cell genomics and functional genomics to uncover the drivers of plant transcriptional responses to the environment. If you’re eager to drive discovery in plants, we want to hear from you.

Your job

Due to their sessile nature, plants developed special strategies to timely respond and acclimate to a dynamic and challenging environment. When encountering stressful conditions, plants have the capability to undergo a complete transcriptional reprogramming to adjust their metabolism, growth, and development to acclimate and survive during environmental challenges. With the advent of single-cell technologies, we are now uncovering how these responses unfold at the cellular level. Interestingly, while core stress-perception mechanisms are often shared across tissues, the resulting downstream transcriptional responses remain highly cell-type specific.

This raises a fundamental question: how does the same environmental signal translate into distinct transcriptional programmes across different cell identities of the plant? In this project you will investigate how intrinsic properties of the cell identity enable these unique cell-type responses. Using state-of-the-art genomic tools, including single-cell sequencing and functional genomics, you will identify the drivers of this specificity. You will be responsible for developing cutting-edge genomic protocols, executing experiments, and analysing large-scale transcriptomic and epigenomics datasets. In addition to your research, you will communicate your findings through manuscripts and presentations, mentor BSc and MSc students, and contribute to teaching activities and academic outreach.

Your qualities

We are looking for a curious, driven, and creative new colleague. For the technical skills listed below, basic familiarity (gained through coursework, projects or internships) is sufficient. Demonstrable hands-on experience is welcomed but not required. We value your potential to grow and your enthusiasm for the science as much as your current technical proficiency.

• MSc degree (or nearing completion) in Plant Sciences, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, or any related plant biology field;
• Experience with working with omics data (e.g.. RNA-seq or ChIP-Seq);
• Experience with general molecular biology tools (e.g. cloning or genotyping);
• Experience with data analysis using R;
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English;
• Proactive and collegial working attitude.