Tenure Track Assistant Professor in epidemiology of agricultural crop diseases

The Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark, offers an attractive career opportunity for promising and skilled researchers. We invite applications for a position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor within epidemiology of plant diseases of agricultural crops. The position is a career development position with the possibility of transitioning to a tenured associate professorship and will be available from 01-06-2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

You will be part of a research environment focusing on plant pathogen biology, epidemiology and crop disease prevention under variable environmental conditions and climate change. The position is part of the section of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, which hosts the Global Rust Reference Center' (www.wheatrust.org). You will contribute to the development of the department through research of the highest international quality. Your primary tasks will be to conduct independent research, including publication in high-impact scientific journals; be responsible for teaching, guidance and examination of BSc and MSc degree students and co-supervision of PhD students; as well as attracting external research funding.

We want to expand our research into new directions ranging from modeling dispersal processes of plant pathogens involving data science, meteorological modelling, and high-performance computing to experimental epidemiology of agricultural crop diseases. The research could include biotrophic pathogens as well as hemi-biotrophic and necrotrophic aboveground pathogens.

We encourage applications from candidates with a solid background in computational approaches in crop disease epidemiology, e.g. dispersion modeling, as well as applications from candidates with a background in experimental epidemiology. This may include, but is not restricted to, assessments of genotypes and phenotypes of relevance for pathogen fitness, host resistance phenotyping, and disease management strategies utilizing host and pathogen characteristics under variable environmental conditions and climate change.

You will get the opportunity to collaborate with relevant national and international research environments and in your daily work, you will work closely with both Danish and international colleagues.

We expect that you will be an important part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment.

Your profile

You have independent research-related qualifications at a high international level. You are a clear communicator, and you have some degree of experience of supervision and teaching at BSc and MSc degree level. Completed pedagogical courses in supervision or similar will be considered, as well as experience with external research collaborations. You have completed at least one productive stay in a different research environment.

To be assessed as qualified for a Tenure Track Assistant Professor position, you must:

• Hold a PhD in and minimum three years of onwards professional experience within data science and/or computational modelling and/or experimental plant pathology of relevance for major agricultural crops
• Document experience in scientific writing with several papers in high-quality journals or other high-quality publication channels
• Provide a 2–3-page plan for research over the next 3-5 years within focused parts of the research area and have a clear potential to perform ground-breaking research as well as attract external funding
• Have proven international research collaborations (e.g. joint papers and applications)
• Be dedicated and possess the ability to collaborate and build relationships

• Documented experience within data science approaches in crop disease epidemiology, e.g., process based atmospheric dispersion modeling, and/or experience in high-performance computing and handling large meteorological data sets, as well as translating data science and models to user-friendly products and data visualizations for public web-interfaces
• Documented experience within experimental plant disease epidemiology, including assessment of host and pathogen characteristics under field and/or lab conditions, e.g., pathogen virulence and fitness and host resistance
• Teaching experience at BSc and MSc level
• Experience in national and international network organization

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via innovative research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer professional laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of nine research sections with around 350 highly dedicated employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.

We believe in encouraging inclusion, acceptance, and understanding by employing staff who bring unique perspectives to our department.

What we offer

• An informal and multicultural research environment with high professionalism, where accountability, commitment, helpfulness, flexibility, and close collaboration is a prerequisite solving the core tasks
• A good social environment with activities and routines that make it possible to talk across and strengthen the inclusive relationship, and where mutual trust, respect, kindness, and professional sparring are emphasized
• A flexible workplace with a good work-life balance
• A workplace where we work actively with diversity, equity and inclusion
• An exciting and varied working environment, where two days rarely resemble each other. We are often busy, and we work creatively for solutions to societal challenges
• Aarhus University offers a wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including a Relocation Service and an Expat Partner Programme

Special benefits when working in Denmark

• Subsidized preschool childcare and a free education system from primary school up to university level
• Universal health insurance as a resident of Denmark, including family members officially residing in Denmark
• Five weeks paid holiday per year
• In connection with childbirth: the right to have a total of 52 weeks shared maternal/paternal leave with full or partial salary pay

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg. The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.

More information can be obtained from Mogens Hovmøller (mogens.hovmolleragro.au.dk) or Mette Vestergård (mvestergardagro.au.dk)

 Ensuring gender balance at the Department of Agroecology is a high priority at Aarhus University, and therefore, we particularly encourage women to apply for this position. No candidate will be given preferential treatment, and all applicants will be assessed on the basis of their qualifications for the position in question.

Technical Sciences Tenure Track

Aarhus University offers talented scientists from around the world attractive career perspectives via the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme. Highly qualified candidates are appointed as Assistant Professors for a period of six years with the prospect of performance- based advancement to a tenured Associate Professorship.

The aim of the Technical Sciences Tenure Track Programme is to:

• attract outstanding talented individuals that are competitive at an international level
• to promote the early development of independent research success early in the career of scientists
• to create transparency in the academic career path

• access to research infrastructure
• capability development, including postgraduate teacher training
• a mentoring programme
• support to develop scientific networks and to secure interdisciplinary research at the highest level

Please refer to the tenure track guidelines for the tenure review criteria and for the tenure review process.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

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.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/