Two Associate Professors: Novel concepts in plant pathogen interactions

Job description

The Laboratory of Phytopathology offers two new positions for Associate Professors with ambition to grow who will help shape the future of phytopathology through innovative research on disease resilience, pathogen adaptation, quantitative disease biology, predictive modelling, or mechanistic understanding of plant-pathogen interactions.
As an Associate Professor in the Laboratory of Phytopathology, you will contribute to working on the frontier of phytopathology. You enjoy and have experience in developing novel concepts in plant-pathogen interactions on different scales (individual plant, population, ecosystem). You are a team player and able to connect to researchers in other chair groups at Wageningen University and establish an (inter)national network. You contribute to teaching and to mentoring colleagues in the team. You have the ambition to contribute to positioning the group in a competitive (funding) landscape.
Specific topics that are complementary to the current research group are:

• theoretical phytopathology;
• predictive modelling / Bioinformatics;
• quantitative disease immunity;
• structural biology.

However, researchers working on other cutting-edge theories/approaches in phytopathology are also encouraged to apply.
Your duties and responsibilities include:

• develop novel concepts in plant-pathogen interactions;
• contribute to the funding of the group;
• contribute to (coordination and innovation of) teaching and supervision of PhD students and postdocs;
• develop (inter)national network and collaborations;
• mentoring and coaching of scientific staff.

These positions are part of the Academic Career Framework (ACF) at Wageningen University & Research and follows the Professor Career Paths. The aim of this ACF is to achieve a new balance in recognising and valuing academics where both team collaboration and the unique talent of individual scientists are seen, by creating more differentiation in career paths, putting the emphasis on the quality of work and less on quantitative results, doing justice to the individual qualities and ambitions of academics as much as to team performance, promoting all aspects of open science and encouraging high-quality leadership in the academy.
You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair Laboratory of Phytopathology, and member of the team, which is led by Dr. W.J de Kogel.
In this challenging career trajectory:

• you acquire, lead and implement innovative and creative(inter-) national research projects in Laboratory of Phytopathology;
• you collaborate with colleagues and supervise PhD students, BSc and MSc theses and you develop and teach courses;
• you contribute to the further development of the Laboratory of Phytopathology.

Your team
You will work in a highly interdisciplinary and international research environment within the Laboratory of Phytopathology at Wageningen University. Currently, the permanent staff of the group consists of 5 researchers, 2 teachers, and 6 support staff.

Requirements

You are an experienced and innovative researcher in phytopathology at the Associate Professor level and have the ambition to further develop your own position as well as the position of the Laboratory of Phytopathology. You are dedicated to teaching students. You are experienced in navigating the (inter)national funding landscape.
You also possess:

• vision on how to operate at the frontier of international phytopathology research;
• strong communication/mentoring skills, potential to act as an ambassador of the group;
• track record in initiating/participating in large consortia and Public-Private Partnerships;
• proven networking skills;
• feeling for translating research and connecting with industries and society, e.g. by working on (model) crops.

In our international working environment, there is an increasing amount of English-language communication. For this position, it is essential to have excellent English language skills.

Employer

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.

Additional information

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. If you come with a partner, we offer a Dual Career group program organized by our Welcome Center. This program helps your partner to get familiar with the Dutch culture, labour market and assists your partner to find a job.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account 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.