PhD position in development of organic rainbow trout breeding schemes and breeding goals

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 October 2024 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title
PhD position in development of organic rainbow trout breeding schemes and breeding goals

Research area and project description
Denmark is one of the largest producers of organic rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the EU. Organic breeding populations have been established, which are kept separate from the conventional ones. However, these populations have not been bred specifically for organic production, which is a problem since EC regulations states that fish populations bred for organic production need to fit the specific environmental conditions, be feed efficient and possess good health and welfare. This 3-year PhD is part of a 4-year research project focusing on the development of an organic breeding programme for rainbow trout in Denmark.

During the PhD project the candidate will focus on calculation of economic values for important traits in organic trout production. The aim is to develop a bio-economic model to calculate the economic value of important traits (e.g. growth, disease resistance). For the development of the breeding plan, we will use stochastic simulations to optimize selective breeding of rainbow trout, including the use of genomics.
The PhD candidate will collaborate closely with both academic and industrial project partners.

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
A master’s degree in: Animal Science, Quantitative Genetics, Biology or within a relevant area.

• Strong programming skills are desired, e.g. R or Phyton
• Excellent English verbal and written skills.
• Be able to work well and communicate expert knowledge in an interdisciplinary team and international collaborators.

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

Contacts
Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact:

• Hanne Marie Nielsen, [email protected] (main supervisor)

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

Application deadline is 1 June 2024 at 23:59 CEST

Preferred starting date is 1 October 2024

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide.

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 agreement.