Your capabilities
- You have a master degree in a major in Bioengineering, Biology, Biochemistry 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 fluent English
- You have an affinity for working in a 'wet' lab for cultivation of seaweed
- You have experience in an analytical chromatography lab
Personal competences
- You can work independently but are also a team player
- You work at different locations and can integrate quickly
- You are strong in planning and organisation
- You are analytical
- You are hands-on e.g. you solve (small) problems during the animal tests)
Plus points
- You have experience with (experimental) animals
We offer
We offer you a 4 year PhD position of which 2 years are funded by the ILVO Equity and 2 years by "UGent".
- 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 For incoming PhD candidates — Ghent University (ugent.be)
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).
This PhD position is part of the SuproSea project, a collaboration between ILVO, UGent, UAntwerpen, and Bio Bbase Europe (BBE). In this project, we investigate the potential of proteins from local seaweeds for food and animal feed. We will cultivate local seaweeds on a small scale (UGent) and then upscale to a pre-pilot scale (ILVO). The seaweeds and their proteins will be characterized for their nutritional value, sensory properties (taste panel), and potential use as food additives. We are also interested in high-value molecules such as pigments. With a focus on sustainability and zero-waste, we aim to utilize the entire biomass. Therefore, we also explore the potential of seaweed as feed for livestock (poultry) and as aquafeed (shrimp). This PhD position is a collaboration between UGent and ILVO.
You will work at different locations (i.e. Ostend and Ghent) and in different working environments (laboratory, (occasional) trips at sea, experimental environment with animals (chickens, shrimps), experimental environment for seaweed cultivation.
What does your job looks like?
- You grow local seaweeds on a small laboratory scale and then scale up to pre-pilot scale
- You perform analyses on the composition of the different seaweeds (proteins, amino acids, pigments)
- You examine the potential for food (analysis of sensory properties via expert taste panel)
- You carry out feeding tests on poultry (nutritional and health-promoting properties) and on shrimp (Aquafeed) (nutritional and health-promoting properties)
- You process your results and publish them in scientific journals and present your results during the consortium meetings.
