AG van Gelderen open positions Light Signaling and Cell Biology - Open Positions

Currently we have two open positions, one in molecular plant science of plant robustness, the LEAP project, and the other for a plant cell biologist on the AGILE project. For more details, see below

We are looking for a PhD student in the collaborative project LEAP, which is part of Greenrobust. Together with six other PI’s we are looking for two PhD students and a Postdoc for our LEAP project, which is part of the Cluster of Excellence, GreenRobust

We are going to investigate how plants integrate stress responses with neighbour shading! If you’re interested in molecular plant science, stress signalling, light signalling, drought and temperature responses, please apply! The deadline is the 15^th of April and the info where to apply can be found in the ad:

General framework

Plant Robustness is seen as the ability of plants to maintain function, despite severe perturbations, such as drought, heat or pathogen attack. The goal of the Green Robust Cluster of Excellence is to uncover the principles of plant robustness. LEAP forms a core part of this strategy by investigating plant robustness to heat and drought in the context of plant competition and relatedness, and whether knowledge of their trade-offs and synergies enables predicting population-level robustness to perturbations.

LEAP (LEveraging ecological theory for plant robustness Across scales: trade-offs and synergies among robustness traits in individuals for Population stability) is an ambitious, collaborative, and interdisciplinary project among seven groups within the framework of the GreenRobust Cluster of Excellence. LEAP will study molecular, physiological and morphological (incl. biomechanical) mechanisms of plant robustness to drought, heat, and competition with other plants. Our approaches range from molecular and individual levels to population-level robustness.

We are looking for 2 PhD students, one in plant evolutionary ecology (with Karl Schmid, Hohenheim; Oliver Bossdorf, Tübingen; Detlef Weigel, Tübingen), one in molecular plant science (with Kasper van Gelderen, Heidelberg; Gabriella Mosca, Tübingen and Waltraud Schulze, Hohenheim), and 1 Postdoc in plant evolutionary ecology (with Katja Tielbörger, Tübingen, Gabriella Mosca, Tübingen). All positions have a running time of three years. 

Requirements

We are looking for highly a motivated candidate who is eager to work in a collaborative environment across three universities and across disciplines (molecular plant science, plant evolutionary ecology and biomechanics). We are looking for a person who values and excels in interdisciplinary and collaborative work, is a quick learners, and flexible in their thinking. Most importantly the candidate should have a passion for (plant) science and a career in academia. 

PhD position II: Molecular Plant Science: The successful candidate will have a Master degree in Biology, Plant Biology, Plant Ecology, or a related field. Sh/e should have experience with methods and concepts in molecular plant biology, experimental plant biology, computational methods, and scientific writing and presentation skills. Knowledge of bio-mechanics and FEM is a plus.

What we offer

You will have the opportunity to work with world class research groups across fields, within the Greenrobust framework . LEAP is a unique chance to make a mark in plant molecular and ecological science within a large team of passionate scientists in a world-class collaborative research environment among research groups from Tübingen University, Hohenheim University and Heidelberg University. Besides an exciting research topic, the PhD students and the PostDoc will have access to an extensive network and training program within the GreenRobust Cluster of Excellence, and access to first class instrumentation and facilities. The PhD students will be part of an interdisciplinary PhD school with a structured supervision and training concept.

Disabled candidates will be given preference over other equally qualified applicants. 

Please send your application including a letter of interest, a teaching and research concept, CV and a list of publications as a single pdf-file to eve-office(at)biologie.uni-tuebingen.de. Please also make sure that two letters of reference will be sent to the above address independently. Please indicate clearly to which position you will apply by naming your pdf file as follows: LEAP PhD I_your name.pdf, LEAP PhD II_your name.pdf, LEAP PostDoc_your name.pdf, respectively.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2026. The start of the positions is envisaged for July 1^st, 2026.