PhD student in physiology and heritable climate adaptation modeling
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet / Högskolejobb / Umeå
2025-12-10
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hela Sverige Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
WIFORCE Research School
Do you want to contribute to the future sustainable use of forests? Apply to join WIFORCE Research School!
Biodiversity and the role of forests in climate change are now key social issues that require more knowledge. In order to both sustainably use and safeguard forest biodiversity, a coherent basic science research program is needed that addresses large and complex issues and develops new analytical tools. That's why the WIFORCE Research School, part of the Wallenberg Initiatives in Forest Research (www.slu.se/en/wiforce), was created.
The Department of forest genetics and plant physiology is part of Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC,
https://www.upsc.se) which is a centre of excellence for experimental plant research and forest biotechnology in Northern Sweden. Our mission is to perform excellent and innovative basic research and generate knowledge that benefits forestry, agriculture, environment and society. We work across a wide range of disciplines in plant science reaching from cell biology to ecophysiology and from basic research to industrial applications. Our common goal is to understand the plants' ability to grow, adapt and acclimate to a changing world and how we can breed better plants.
Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at SLU at
https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/work-at-slu/Drivers of heritable plastic response under changing climate
Research subject: Biology
Description:
Climate change presents a particular challenge for woody perennial plants. Long generation times limit the opportunities for heritable adaptive responses, but increase the range of environmental conditions an individual will experience across their lifespan, making plastic responses - individual responses to external environmental cues, influenced by life history, morphology, physiology and behavior - potentially more important than in annual plants. Despite this, little is known about the genetics underlying plastic responses, especially in long-generation organisms where it is harder to study.
Genomic prediction is a powerful tool for breeding, and it is known in crop plants that plastic variation is heritable. With genomic prediction, better adapted individuals can be selected at the seedling stage using only genetic data, accelerating the breeding cycle. Incorporating information about plasticity can aid genomic prediction modeling of tree growth and health under future climates. This project seeks to address generalizable principles underlying the genetic basis of plastic response in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), European aspen (Populus tremula) and assess how these insights can be used to improve genomic prediction under changing environments in Norway spruce (Picea abies).
The student will work with a variety of methodological approaches (plant physiology, quantitative genetics and bioinformatics) to understand how heritable plastic responses work at both the individual and population levels. The student will be based in the Swarts lab, and will be closely co-supervised by the Hurry, Street and Zan labs, providing an opportunity for dynamic interactions across UPSC. As part of the KAW WiFORCE initiative, the student will have opportunity to interact with groups across Sweden.
Qualifications:
The candidate must have a strong background in plant physiology, genomics or breeding, ideally combining experience across these fields. The candidate's background should include courses in statistics and additional programming skills are preferred. The candidate must be intellectually flexible, a strong communicator and willing to work as part of a team. The candidates are expected to have a strong command of both written and verbal English.
Place of work:
Umeå
Forms for funding or employment:
Employment, 4 years
Starting date:
According to agreement.
Application:
Click the "Apply" button to submit your application. The deadline is 2026-02-10.
To qualify for third-cycle (Doctoral) courses and study programmes, you must have a second-cycle (Master's) qualification. Alternatively, you must have conducted a minimum of four years of full-time study, of which a minimum of one year at second-cycle level.
Applicants will be selected based on their written application and CV, degree project, copies of their degree certificate and transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution, two personal references, and knowledge of English. More information about the English language requirements can be found here:
https://www.slu.se/en/education/programmes-courses/doctoral-studies/application-admission-doctoral-studies/Please note that applicants invited to interview must submit attested copies of their degree certificate, or equivalent, a transcript of records from previous first and second-cycle studies at a university or higher education institution. Applicants who are not Swedish citizens need to submit an attested copy of their passport's information page containing their photograph and personal details.
Read about the PhD education at SLU at
https://www.slu.se/en/study/programmes-courses/doctoral-education/Academic union representatives:
https://internt.slu.se/en/my-employment/employee-associations/kontaktpersoner-vid-rekrytering/The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has a key role in the development for sustainable life, based on science and education. Through our focus on the interaction between humans, animals and ecosystems and the responsible use of natural resources, we contribute to sustainable societal development and good living conditions on our planet. Our main campuses are located in Alnarp, Umeå and Uppsala, however, the university also operates at research stations, experimental forests and teaching sites throughout Sweden.
SLU has around 4,000 employees, 6,000 students and doctoral students and a turnover of over SEK 4,5 billion. We are investing in attractive environments on all of our campuses. We strive to provide a work environment characterised by inclusivity and gender equality, where different experiences generate conversations between people and pave the way for science, creativity and development. Therefore, we welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Ersättning Fast lön
Så ansöker du Sista dag att ansöka är 2026-02-10
Klicka på denna länk för att göra din ansökan Omfattning Detta är ett heltidsjobb.
Arbetsgivare Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (org.nr 202100-2817),
http://www.slu.se Arbetsplats Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Kontakt Assistant Professor
Kelly Swarts
firstname.lastname@slu.se +4670-6162736 Jobbnummer 9637046