PhD Student (100%) “Encapsulation of bacterial-fungal consortia for agricultural applications”
Date de publication :
22 octobre 2024Taux d'activité :
100%- Lieu de travail :Schweiz - Mittelland (SO, AG)
The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL is one of the world's leading research institutions in the field of organic agriculture and employs around 300 people in Switzerland. FiBL's strengths are interdisciplinary research, joint innovations with farmers and the food industry as well as rapid knowledge transfer. FiBL Switzerland's expertise is also in demand beyond the country's borders. It is therefore involved in numerous international projects, research, extension and training, as well as development cooperation.
In the Department of Soil Sciences, we are offering the following position starting on January 1st, 2025 or by agreement:
Fungal diseases lead to significant crop yield losses and are typically controlled using chemical plant protection products or copper-based fungicides. This project aims to develop a new, sustainable way to control soil-borne fungal diseases in crops by using tailored consortia of fungi and bacteria. The project will develop a high-throughput method to isolate effective bacterial-fungal consortia tailored to specific crop-pathogen systems. It will assess the environmental safety of these consortia to ensure they are safe for application. In parallel, the project will focus on creating a viable encapsulation formulation. Field trials will be conducted to validate the consortia's effectiveness in real agricultural environments. This approach will be developed in partnership with producers to ensure practical relevance and impact.
The 4-year PhD thesis is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The project is a collaboration between Prof. Saskia Bindschedler from the University of Neuchâtel, Prof. Alexandra Kämpfer-Homsy from the Haute Ecole Arc Ingénierie (HE-Arc) in La Chaux de Fonds, and Dr. Natacha Bodenhausen from FiBL. The PhD student will work at FiBL in Frick but is expected to collaborate with project partners at the other institutions.
Does this position interest you? Natacha Bodenhausen, Co-leader of the Group Nutrient Management & Symbiosis, Phone +41 62 865 72 72, will be happy to answer any further questions.
We would be pleased to receive your application documents by Nov 15, 2024 via application form.