Two PhD positions in the Department of Biology at Utrecht University

A consortium of the Developmental Biology and Cell Biology groups of the Department of Biology, in collaboration with the Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics group of the Department of Chemistry at Utrecht University and the Institute of Marine Research (IMR, Bergen, Norway), is looking for two enthusiastic scholars wanting to do a PhD on the NWO-domain Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES)-financed project “Induced sterility in farmed salmon - a sustainable approach to improve welfare and performance” (project leader Jan Bogerd). Your primary task will be to carry out research in the context of this project to mitigate issues in salmon aquaculture associated with genetic introgression and precocious male puberty. These aspects limit at present to further enhance the sustainability and efficiency of salmon aquaculture. To this end, we will apply and further develop approaches based on nanobody-drug conjugates and DNA technology. In addition, you are expected to carry out some work as a teaching assistant within the department.