Your capabilities
- You have a master degree in Bioengineering, Biology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology or equivalent. Students who will graduate in 2024 may also apply If you have a foreign diploma, we ask you to obtain equivalence recognition. You can apply for this at NARIC Vlaanderen
- You meet the generic conditions to carry out a PhD Doctoral grants: requirements and regulations - ILVO Vlaanderen
- You speak and write English fluently
- You have experience with lab-scale work
- You have experience with upscaling
Personal competences
- You can work independently but are also a team player
- You are hands-on
- You are independent and decisive
- You are a good communicator e.g. presenting results during meetings
- You are strong in planning and organisation
- You have a sharp analytical mind
- You enjoy delving into literature
Plus points
- You have experience in the field of nutrition e.g. thesis
- You have knowledge of the agrifood secto
We offer
We offer you a 4 year PhD position funded by ILVO and in close cooperation with a University.
- The doctoral scholarship is initially granted for 1 year and can be extended to 4 years, after a favorable evaluation. The scholarship is free of personal income tax, but does contribute to your social security (e.g. pension).
- The grant amount is 2,696.82 net (3,102,29 gross) for the first 2 years. For the final 2 years the amount is 2.793,23 net (3.213,20 bruto). These amounts may differ from the scholarship amounts at the Universities.
You get a varied, challenging and socially relevant job in a dynamic environment with attractive working conditions and development opportunities. Hybrid work is possible if the position allows it.
Additional: Hospitalization insurance, commuting allowance (bicycle – public
transport), meal vouchers (8 €/day). An additional week of holidays are given between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The PhD will be conducted within the SuproSea project, a collaboration between ILVO, UGent, UAntwerpen, and Bio Base Europe (BBE). This project aims to explore the potential of proteins derived from local seaweeds for food applications. Local seaweeds will be cultivated to optimize protein composition. Seaweed biomass will undergo processing, and innovative extraction methods will be evaluated to obtain high-quality proteins. These proteins will be characterized for their composition, techno-functional properties and digestibility and used in the development of various food applications
You will work at different locations (i.e. Melle and Ostend) and in different working environments (lab, food pilot, and occasionally in seaweed cultivation pilot environment).
What does your job looks like?
- Seaweeds will be pretreated with innovative techniques (PEF, microwave, HPH, beadmilling)
- You use different innovative methods for efficient protein extraction
- You characterise the obtained proteins - composition, digestibility, technofunctional properties
- You develop different food formulations (e.g. meat substitutes)
- You initially work on a laboratory scale and use this knowledge for upscaling to pilot scale
- You process your results and publish in scientific journals
- You present your results during consortium meetings.
