Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Biological and Chemical Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 May 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title
Heterologous Production of Natural Products in Photorhabdus laumondii

Research area and project description
The project aims to unlock the biosynthetic potential of Photorhabdus laumondii as a novel heterologous host for the production of RiPPs (ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides). Despite the identification of numerous RiPP biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus species, many remain uncharacterized due to poor expression in the native strains or conventional heterologous hosts like E. coli.

This project addresses the critical challenge of low-yield RiPP production by developing a streamlined workflow for cloning, expression, and fermentation in P. laumondii, a genetically tractable bacterium with a rich natural product repertoire and ecological adaptations that favor non-toxic metabolite production.

The project combines synthetic biology, microbial engineering, and natural product chemistry. The projects is done in collaboration between the lab of Assoc. Prof. Thomas Tørring at Aarhus university and the lab of Prof. Helge Bode at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg.

• Project description. For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Qualifications and specific competences
Applicants must have a relevant Master’s degree (120 ECTS) or obtain a relevant Master’s degree in the summer of 2026 at the latest. The student must have good communication skills and thrive in collaborations. Prior work or knowledge within natural product biosynthesis, analytical chemistry, use of bioreactors, and heterologous protein production will be considered positively.

Place of employment and place of work
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.

Contacts
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Associate Professor Thomas Tørring, thomast@bce.au.dk (main supervisor)
  

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk
  

How to apply
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 1 March 2026 at 23:59 CET.

Preferred starting date is 1 May 2026.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be taken into account.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.
  

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. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.