The opening is for a PhD research position within the field of mathematical or theoretical biology, computational physics, applied mathematics or computational science. The successful applicant will be an integral member of the GreenTE community, which offers an open, diverse and inspiring environment to engage in multidisciplinary mechanobiology research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and physics, and is expected to participate in GreenTE events, training and collaborations.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop and interpret novel two-dimensional multiscale mathematical models of mechanical regulation of plant development and regeneration in close collaboration with members of the GreenTE consortium, in particular the group of experimental plant biologist Prof. dr. Dolf Weijers at Wageningen University.
- Further develop the plant modeling package VirtualLeaf to reflect mechanical manipulation as performed in the experimental lab.
- Incorporate detailed insights into the model of the mechanical properties of cell walls based on experiments and small-scale simulations developed elsewhere in the GreenTE consortium.
- Correct and improve your mathematical models in close collaboration with experimental biologists, particularly PhD students at Wageningen University who will perform mechanical interventions (e.g., stretching, squeezing or poking) of embryo development and root regeneration of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
- At a later stage: extend the models to three dimensions in close collaboration with a postdoc in computational science in our team.
Information about the requirements, selection criteria and application form can be found here. (This is the link: PhD: Modeling the mechanical regulation of plant development and regeneration (1.0 FTE) – Leiden University (universiteitleiden.nl))
Enquiries about the position can be made to Prof.dr. Roeland Merks, [email protected]
To apply for this vacancy, please ensure that you join to your application the following additional documents:
- A letter of motivation
- An updated CV
- Letters of recommendation or contact details of 1 or 2 former supervisors
- The transcripts of your MSc studies
- Examples of previously written code
Application deadline September 9th 2024.