PhD opportunity in plant computational biology at Aarhus University

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Quantitative Genetics and Genomics programme. The position is available from 1 September 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title
PhD candidate in plant computational biology

Research area and project description
Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Quantitative Genetics and Genomics programme. The position is available from 01 September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Gene duplication is a major driver of evolutionary innovation in plants and has played an important role in the emergence of traits relevant to crop domestication and improvement, such as flower morphology and stress responses. This PhD project aims to investigate how duplicated genes diverge or retain functions, and how these processes contribute to the evolution of agronomically important traits in domesticated plants. By combining comparative genomics, evolutionary analyses, and computational approaches across multiple crop species, the project will help identify candidate genes relevant for crop research and future breeding strategies. The results will also provide new insights into the evolutionary mechanisms shaping plant genomes.

• Project description. For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
  

Qualifications and specific competences
Applicants must hold a relevant Master’s degree in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or a related field and

- Knowledge in programming in Python or R
- Familiarity with machine learning or deep learning methods is a plus
- Interest in plant genomics, evolutionary biology, or comparative genomics
- Proficient in written and spoken English communication skills

Place of employment and place of work
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is C.F. Møllers Allé 3, Bldg. 1130, 8000 Aarhus C., Denmark.

Contacts
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Professor Torben Asp, torben.asp@qgg.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Assistant Professor Irene Julca, irene.julca@qgg.au.dk (co-supervisor)
  

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk
  

How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 31 May 2026 23:59 CEST.

Preferred starting date is 1 September 2026.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
  

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective

 

INFORMATIONER OM STILLINGEN:

- Arbejdspladsen ligger i:

Aarhus Kommune

-Virksomheden tilbyder:

-Arbejdsgiver:

Aarhus Universitet, Nordre Ringgade, 8000 Aarhus C

-Ansøgning:

Ansøgningsfrist: 31-05-2026;

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