项目介绍

2024年5月9日

Function

The Animal Breeding and Genomics group at Wageningen University and Research is looking for  an enthusiastic PhD candidate who would like to help horse studbooks to implement breeding for better health in their breeding programs.

The PhD will be employed as part of a newly funded public–private partnership (PPP) entitled: “Sustainable breeding programs for genetically healthy horse populations in the Netherlands.”

The PPP aims to support horse studbooks in the Netherlands in their effort to sustainably manage their horse populations, by developing a genetic management program. Such a program should comprise an optimal balance between breed conservation, mitigating deleterious mutations and selection for health and performance. The emphasis on either of these 3 pillars is depending on the genetic status of the horse population.

The PhD candidate will be member of the PPP team and will focus on optimizing the genetic management program for the Dutch Warmblood Horse Association (KWPN). The specific objectives of the PhD-project are: 1) to map and interpret the status of genetic diversity of subgroups of the studbook 2) to detect mutations that are associated with health and fertility 3) To optimally integrate selection for better health and performance while maintaining genetic diversity.

Genomic methodologies can help to better quantify the current status and determine optimal breeding strategies. Several types of genomic datasets (standard SNP arrays and WGS) will be assessed to evaluate genetic diversity and detect mutations associated with health and fertility. The large standard phenotypic databases of the studbook as well as specifically collected phenotypes will be used in this project.

The results from the pedigree-based and genomic assessments will be the basis to compare possible management strategies which will be evaluated on their long-term effects and practical feasibility. For example, while optimum contribution selection (OCS) is theoretically the best strategy, mean kinship selection-based strategies might be more feasible.

The PhD candidate will closely collaborate with researchers and managers of the KWPN studbook as well as with the PhD-student working on the Friesian horse studbook within the PPP.

Supervisors:
– Prof. Martien Groenen
– Dr Harmen Doekes
– Dr Martijn Derks
– Dr Bart Ducro

Function Requirements

You have / You are :

• a master’s degree in a relevant biological field (Animal Breeding and Genomics, Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology) with affinity for the topic;
• a strong affinity for working with and/or developing bioinformatics pipelines;
• a strong interest in genetic diversity in animal population;
• a strong interest in applied research;
• creative and innovative;
• good organisational and (written and spoken) communication skills in English, as well as a proven ability to collaborate with others;
• an affinity with horse breeding and horse studbooks is a pre
• willingness to travel internationally, to attend conferences and visit other institutes.

Contactinformation

For more information about the vacancy please contact Dr Bart Ducro by email: bart.ducro@wur.nl ; +31317484262 or prof. Martien Groenen, by email: martien.groenen@wur.nl; +31317483747.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Noorien Abbas, corporate recruiter, by email:noorien.abbas@wur.nl