项目介绍

2026年9月4日

The project

Food loss caused by microbial spoilage is a major challenge for a more sustainable food production. While microorganisms are often viewed as a problem in food systems, naturally occurring microbial communities can also play beneficial roles by protecting plant foods against spoilage organisms. However, the underlying mechanisms of such community-driven protection remain poorly understood.

The overall aim of the BIOBARRIER project is to establish the scientific foundation for using beneficial bacterial communities as protective barriers on fresh plant foods. Focusing on potato-associated microbial communities and their interactions with spoilage organisms of the genus Pectobacterium, the project seeks to uncover how microbial interactions can contribute to food protection and reduced food loss.

BIOBARRIER combines microbial ecology, molecular microbiology, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and computational approaches to understand how microbial communities generate protective functions that individual species cannot achieve alone.

The PhD project

This PhD fellowship is associated with the work package Biocontrol Mechanisms and focuses on understanding how bacterial communities suppress spoilage organisms through gene expression and production of protective metabolites.

The successful candidate will investigate questions such as:

• How interactions between bacterial species shape community function.
• How microbial communities potentially alter gene expression compared with individual species.
• Which metabolites are associated with microbial bioprotection.
• How community composition influences protective activity.
• How beneficial microbial communities can be rationally designed for food protection.

The project combines laboratory experiments with transcriptomics, metabolomics, and computational analyses. The PhD fellow will conduct independent research under supervision, collaborate with national and international partners, contribute to scientific publications, and present results at international conferences.

The project includes a six-month research stay at Teagasc and University College Cork (Ireland) and is embedded within the Multispecies Systems Microbiology Group at the Department of Food Science. The successful candidate will join an ambitious and collaborative research environment with access to state-of-the-art microbiology, sequencing, microscopy, metabolomics, and bioinformatics facilities.

Qualifications

We are looking for a highly motivated and ambitious researcher with a strong interest in microbial ecology and bacterial community interactions.

The successful applicant must have:

• An MSc degree in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Food Microbiology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, or a related discipline.
• Research experience obtained through an MSc thesis, research project, or equivalent activities.
• Experience with all or some of the mentioned microbiological laboratory techniques.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

Experience with one or several of the following areas is considered an advantage:

• Microbial ecology
• Bacterial biofilms
• Transcriptomics or RNA sequencing
• Metabolomics
• Bioinformatics
• Multi-omics data integration
• R and/or Python programming
• Cultivation and characterization of bacterial communities

We seek candidates with strong scientific curiosity, independent thinking, creativity, and motivation for research.

The PhD programme

The position is available within the framework of the regular three-year PhD programme at the Faculty of SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen.

To be eligible for the PhD programme, applicants must have completed a degree corresponding to a Danish Master’s degree (120 ECTS) in a relevant field.

Employment is conditional upon successful enrolment as a PhD student at the Faculty of SCIENCE.

The PhD fellow will be expected to:

• Carry out an independent research project under supervision.
• Complete PhD courses corresponding to approximately 30 ECTS.
• Participate in active research environments at UCPH and partner institutions.
• Complete a research stay abroad.
• Participate in teaching and science communication activities.
• Write scientific publications.
• Prepare and defend a PhD thesis.

For information about the PhD programme, please visit: https://www.science.ku.dk/phd/ 

Application procedure

The application, in English, must be submitted electronically and include:

• Motivated letter of application (maximum 1 page).
• Curriculum vitae.
• Diplomas and transcripts of records for BSc and MSc degrees.
• Scientific statement (maximum 1 page, excluding references) describing:
  • Your most significant previous research experience and what you learned from it.
  • Which aspect of the BIOBARRIER project you find most scientifically interesting and why.
  • A microbial interaction, ecological phenomenon, or microbiological question that you find particularly interesting and how you would investigate it experimentally.
• Contact information for academic references.

Applications will be evaluated based on academic qualifications, research experience, scientific curiosity, ability to formulate biological questions, motivation for research, and potential for independent scientific development.