Research Technician Root Barriers | 36-40 hours

Are you fascinated by diversity of plant structures and intrigued by their ability to protect plants from stresses? Do you want to be part of a dynamic team working towards the common goal of understanding how plants maintain multiple barriers and use them to survive and thrive? Are you interested in carrying out high-throughput phenotyping screens and understanding how root traits affect plant fitness? Then you could be our new colleague in the BarrierFates consortium!

Research Technician Root Barriers

Faculty of Science - Department of Biology

• HBO/HLO
• 36 to 40 hours
• min. €3.318 - max. €4.298
• Application deadline: 18 June 2025

Your job

BarrierFates is a NWO Open Competition XL-funded consortium aiming to explore how maize roots develop and utilize three critical cortical barrier cell types—endodermis, exodermis, and multiseriate cortical sclerenchyma—to enhance stress resilience. This project aims to uncover the genetic mechanisms that regulate the formation of these specialised root cells, which play a vital role in protecting plants from environmental stresses such as drought and parasitic plants. The project's outcomes are expected to contribute to the development of crops with improved stress tolerance, offering sustainable solutions for agriculture in the face of climate change and resource scarcity. By deepening our understanding of root barrier formation, BarrierFates promises to unlock new strategies for enhancing crop performance and resilience.

We are seeking a motivated and talented candidate to launch the BarrierFates research at Utrecht University. You will work on a commercially important species maize and its relatives. Your project will focus on optimising stress protocols (parasitic plant Striga, drought, soil compaction), generating phenotypic data from high-throughput screens at NPEC and imaging root system architectures and cellular anatomy. You will have the opportunity to interact with PhD candidates, postdocs and scientists involved in different aspects of the BarrierFates project, and we will provide opportunities for training and knowledge exchange between consortium members. A solid background in plant biology or a related field, with a keen interest in how root traits affect plant fitness under soil stresses will help you thrive in this role. The position will be based in a dynamic and collaborative research environment working under the supervision of Dr. Kaisa Kajala and Dr. Dorota Kawa. The expected start date will be in the fall of 2025.

Key responsibilities

• design and optimise plant phenotyping protocols;
• generate and analyse root and shoot phenomics data in collaboration with PhD candidates;
• support the sampling and processing of material for root barrier phenotyping;
• conduct short research visits (up to 3 weeks) to our partner lab at IPK Gatersleben in Germany to learn methods and perform joint experiments;
• take a proactive role in collaborating with members of the BarrierFates consortium;
• analyse and interpret datasets, and present research findings during BarrierFates consortium meetings.

Your qualities

You are a curious, committed and passionate colleague who brings the following qualifications and experience:

• an (under)graduate degree in plant biology, biotechnology, genetics or a related field;
• hands-on experience working with plants and a solid understanding of designing large-scale experiments;
• the ability to develop and troubleshoot novel protocols;
• basic data analysis and statistical skills;
• well-developed organisational, analytical and problem-solving skills;
• comfortable working both independently and collaboratively.

Our offer

• A position for one year, with an extension to a total of three years upon successful assessment;
• a working week of 38 hours and a gross monthly salary between €3,318 and €4,298 (salary scale 8 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University has a number of schemes and facilities of its own for employees. This includes schemes facilitating professional development, leave schemes and schemes for sports and cultural activities, as well as discounts on software and other IT products. We also offer access to additional employee benefits through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage our employees to continue to invest in their growth. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University.

About us

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.

Working at the Faculty of Science means bringing together inspiring people across disciplines and with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. The Faculty has six departments: Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information & Computing Sciences, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Together, we work on excellent research and inspiring education. We do so, driven by curiosity and supported by outstanding infrastructure. Visit us on LinkedIn and discover how you can become part of our community.

As our newest team member you will be part of the Department of Biology. Research within this department is organized in two institutes: the Institute of Biodynamics and Biocomplexity (IBB) and the Institute of Environmental Biology (IEB). The department of Biology coordinates the teaching of the Bachelor’s programme in Biology, as well as Master’s programmes and PhD courses that are offered through the Graduate School of Life Sciences.

You will be working in the vibrant Experimental & Computational Plant Development and Plant Stress Resilience groups.