Application In order for your application to be...

Application In order for your application to be taken into consideration you must meet the requirements stated in  the application form (please find the application form here)  Please send your application by the form below.Closing date for applications is 15 August 2009  at 12.00 noon. Applications received after the closing date for applications will not be considered! The University of Aarhus encourages all, irrespective of personal background, to apply. The University of Aarhus has 35,000 students, 8,500 members of staff and a turnover of DKK 4.8 billion in 2008. The university’s strategy and development contract are available at http://www.au.dk/en/strategy  PhD position in ‘The impact of cultivation techniques and induced stress on bioactive compounds in Echinacea species’.  Applications are invited for a PhD position at the University of Aarhus, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (DJF), Department of Horticulture. The position is available for three years beginning as soon as possible. Research area and project description The PhD project will focus on the impact of cultivation techniques and  induced stress on the formation and content of bioactive alkamides and phenolic acids in Echinacea species, and how this can be exploited in production of raw material for the pharmaceutical industry. Despite being one of the most important medicinal plants, relatively little is known on how cultivation and stress affects the yield and quality of bioactive compounds in  Echinacea species. Many bioactive secondary metabolites exploited in herbal medicine are involved in the defence system of plants and hence their content in plants may change as a response to stressed conditions during growth. The stressed condition can be both biotic like insect or disease attack, or it can be abiotic like drought or nutrient starvation. The hypothesis is that cultivation techniques and induced stress during cultivation can lead to a higher content and/or changes in the profile of bioactive compounds in plants and hence to an improved quality of raw plant material for medicinal preparations. The methods that will be implied are field experiments, cultivation techniques, plant development assessment, induced stress  treatments, sampling techniques and HPLC and LC-MS measurements of bioactive compounds. Qualifications and specific competences Applicants to the PhD positions must have a relevant Master’s degree (or graduate in the very near  future – documentation for final thesis and date of examination must be enclosed in the application)  or equivalent.  Place of Employment and Place of Work  The place of employment is the University of Aarhus, and the place of work is the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Horticulture, Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK-5792, Aarslev, Denmark. Salary and Terms of Employment Salary and terms of employment are according to current agreement for state-employed academics and government circular from the Ministry of Finance regarding PhD students as well as the appointmet structure of 2007 for scientific personnel at universities. The salary level for PhD students with qualifications corresponding to a Danish Master degree is approx. DKK 288,000 per year excluding pension (corresponding to USD 48,600 / EUR 38,600 per  year - depending on the rate of exchange at the actual time of employment). Matriculation as a PhD student will be in accordance with Ministerial Order no. 18 of 14 January 2008 on the PhD Programme at Universities, and matriculation at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciencs is a prerequisite for employment as a PhD student. Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact: Senior scientist Kai Grevsen, The Department of Horticulture, email: ******, phone: +******or Dr. Ole Callesen, Head of Department, email: ******, phone: +******.