PhD in Sustainability and Modeling for Cellular Agriculture

Your job

Are you passionate about the future of sustainable food production and eager to contribute to the fast-developing field of cellular agriculture? We are seeking a mission-driven individual to join our team as a PhD candidate in Sustainability and Modeling for Cellular Agriculture, with a focus on Development of Techno-Economic Analysis.

What is the topic you will work on?
With the world’s population predicted to surpass nine billion by 2050, substantial challenges emerge regarding food production and security. Traditional practices such as livestock farming and fishing are deemed unsustainable due to their resource-intensive nature and adverse environmental effects. Therefore, there is an ever-growing need for innovative and sustainable food production technologies. Cellular Agriculture is an emerging technology where animal derived products are produced using cell culture technologies instead of livestock. Despite significant advances in the field, several key technical obstacles remain to be addressed before this technology is viable at a commercial scale. One key aspect is the development of techno economic models to determine the economic viability and scalability of defined cultivated meat bioprocesses. The models help identify critical areas, enabling research and development to focus on optimizing processes that lower manufacturing and facility costs, expenditures, and potential environmental impacts.  As such, we aim to use data generated in benchtop scale experiments to inform and predict bioprocess design via techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the proposed bioprocess.

What are you going to do?
As a PhD candidate you will be responsible for:

• design and optimize bioprocesses for cultivated meat, including media formulation, cell growth, differentiation, and harvesting;
• collect, model, and analyze data related to costs, energy use, raw materials, and other economic factors in cultivated meat production;
• develop and refine TEA models for the developed bioprocess, focusing on various scales (lab, pilot, industrial);
• perform TEA with an energy balance of a defined bioprocess for cultivated meat/seafood;
• work independently and in close collaboration with project partners from academia and industry;
• publication of research results in relevant and leading journals;
• supervision of student projects as well as cooperation in lectures.

You will work here
You will join the Cellular Agriculture research theme of the Bioprocess Engineering chair group led by Prof. Rene Wijffels. Bioprocess Engineering works on a sustainable and healthy future by engineering efficient bioprocesses for high quality natural products. The group offers expertise in reactor engineering, down-stream processing and metabolic engineering to teach and develop innovative bio-based processes. Our research aims at developing the scientific field and applications in typical Wageningen themes such as circular processes, food and environmental sciences. We study different types of cells, including photoautotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms and animal cells to develop production systems for biobased products, including commodity and specialty chemicals and biopharmaceuticals.

Your qualities

You are curious and passionate about cellular agriculture, possess great problem-solving and analytical skills, and are highly motivated to contribute to the development of a safe and secure food system.

You also possess:

• a successfully completed MSc degree in biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, industrial engineering, or another relevant field;
• previous knowledge/expertise in bioprocess design, bioengineering, and/or mathematic modelling;
• affinity towards research questions in TEA;
• strong critical thinking and organizational skills;
• excellent writing and communication skills, in English;
• experience with up-scaling, bioeconomy and decentralized business models is advantageous;
• in-depth knowledge of the field and technology state-of-the-art;
• experience with TEA is a plus.
   

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.872,- per month rising to € 3.670,-  in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “Best University” in the Netherlands for the 19th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. We can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Do you want more information?

For more information about this position, please contact Dr. Affif Grazette, Research Manager, by e-mail: affif.grazette@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Rutger Voorrips, corporate recruiter, by e-mail: rutger.voorrips@wur.nl.

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval.

This vacancy will be listed up to and including the 23^rd of September 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews shortly after the closing date.

Additional information form
For this position, you must fill in a mandatory form which will allow us to have a comprehensive view of your qualifications and better assess your fit for it. You can access the form using this link.
Your prompt response will ensure that your application continues to move forward in the evaluation process. We assure you that the information provided will be kept confidential and used solely for this application process.

Equal opportunities
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,700 employees (7,000 fte), 2,500 PhD and EngD candidates, 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves and do not appreciate unasked for services from recruitment agencies. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.