PhD position: Micropollutant uptake and transformation in constructed wetland plants

Your job

Are you a highly motivated and curious researcher who is passionate about developing nature-based water treatment technologies to improve our water quality? Do you enjoy performing laboratory experiments and mastering a wide array of experimental protocols and analytical techniques? Do you wish to deepen our understanding of the capability of plants to deal with anthropogenic chemicals? Then you could be the ideal PhD candidate to join our team!

Background of the programme
Micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals and PFAS, pose a significant threat to human and ecosystem health. A lot of these micropollutants enter the ecosystem via the discharged water of wastewater treatment plants. Constructed wetlands are nature-based treatment technologies that can be used for additional micropollutant removal from the effluent of wastewater treatment plants. Biodegradation, sorption and plant uptake are important micropollutant removal mechanisms in the constructed wetland. However, little is known about the fate of micropollutants that are taken up by the plants in the constructed wetland.

What will you do?
Plants possess a detoxification system that is similar to that of the human liver to deal with anthropogenic chemicals / micropollutants that are taken up and might negatively affect the plant health. Enzymatic processes result in the storage and/or transport and/or transformation of these micropollutants. In this PhD-project, that is performed in collaboration with a drinking water company, water technology company and research institutes, you will elucidate the fate of the micropollutant that are taken up by the plant. To do so, you will perform plant growth and constructed wetland experiments to determine the enzymes that are involved in micropollutant detoxification and to determine the transformation products that are formed as a consequence of these enzymatic processes. As a result of your research, we will be better able to estimate the contribution of plants to the total micropollutant removal by constructed wetland and will be able to assess the potential health risk of the accumulated micropollutant (transformation products) in plants. Finally, you will be able to provide suggestions for plant-based strategies for increasing the micropollutant removal capacity of constructed wetlands to ensure a better water quality.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Performing hydroponic plant growth experiments as well as using molecular tools to determine enzyme activities
• Performing in-vitro experiments and using sophisticated analytical chemical equipment (LC-HRMS / non-target screening) to identify micropollutant transformation products
• (Verbally) communicating your about your research with project stakeholders and colleagues and publishing your research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Teaching (10% of your time),  including supervising MSc-thesis students
• Obtaining 30 credits with PhD-courses at the Wageningen Institute for Environment and Climate Research (WIMEK) graduate-school

You will work here
The research is performed in the Environmental Technology (ETE) department (www.ete.wur.nl), in collaboration with the Plant Physiology (PPH) department (https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/plant-sciences/laboratory-of-plant-physiology/people.htm). You will become member of the ‘Micropollutants & Pathogens’ subgroup of ETE, which is led by Dr. Nora Sutton. You will be supervised by Dr. Thomas Wagner and Dr. Rumyana Karlova. Dr. Nora Sutton will be your promotor.

Your qualities

• You have – or will soon obtain - an MSc degree in plant sciences, environmental engineering, environmental technology, (plant) biotechnology, analytical chemistry or a related field from an internationally recognized two year master program taught in English
• You have extensive experience with laboratory work, for instance as part of your MSc-thesis
• You have hands-on experience with either molecular analysis (cDNA, 16s rRNA gene-based community analysis) or advanced analytical chemical analysis (LC-HRMS, target/suspect/non-target screening)
• You have affinity with either research into the fate of micropollutants in the environment / during waste water treatment or plant research
• You work in a structured and focused way and are able to think in, work with and communicate about (verbally/written)  multidisciplinary research approaches;
• You have affinity with working as a team player, proactive in your work, involved actively in your working environment and capable of independently addressing and solving research problems.

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 Thomas Wagner by e-mail thomas.wagner@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 October 14th, 2024. We hope to schedule the first job interviews in the week of October 28th 2024.

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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 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 the video below to get an idea of our green campus!


We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.