Postdoc in quantitative animal breeding and genetics: Optimizing breeding of organic trout and organic dairy cattle.

Exciting job at a top research department for quantitative genetics and genomics at Aarhus University. The Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics is seeking applicants for a Post Doc position in the field of breeding plans and breeding goal for organic production.

Expected start date and duration of employment
This is a 2-year position from January 1st 2025 or as soon as possible hereafter.

Job description
The Post doc is focused on developing and optimizing breeding plans and breeding goals for organic trout (RDD9 Troutganic), organic dairy cattle (RDD8 Ø-KO-AVL. The two projects have similar aims: find the optimal breeding plan for the species, as well as define and evaluate new breeding goals. The optimization of breeding plans will be done through simulations. The evaluation of new breeding goals will be done through the analysis of economic data, as well as results from consumer-studies.
Context: ORGANIC FARM ANIMALS: Organic production of farmed animals in Denmark is expanding. Consumers show an increasing interest in animal welfare, health, and the environmental impact of agriculture. Yet, organic breeding programs still depend heavily on the conventional breeding population. To optimize genetic gain in a direction that is desirable for organic production, the breeding program must be improved. Until now, little has been done about optimizing the breeding of organically farmed species in Denmark, such as trout and dairy cattle. The Post doc will work on laying a foundation for organic trout and organic dairy cattle breeding programs in Denmark.
The focus of the position is on breeding plans, breeding goals, and economic values. Possible tasks will be:

• Defining breeding goals
• Estimating economic values
• Creating a tool (e.g. R-package) for estimating economic values
• Simulation of breeding schemes
• Project management

The candidate will work across projects on different species, such as organic dairy cattle and fish. All projects have a focus on quantitative genetics.

You will work closely with a team of organic farmers and researchers specialized in animal breeding planning and population genetics. You will assess and optimize breeding programs through simulations and define new breeding goals by selecting relevant traits and estimating economic values. For organic dairy cattle, you will define new breeding goal traits that represent ethics, and you will calculate their non-market values. This position will provide you with the opportunity to make a change in the organic breeding, as well as combine the scientific significance of your work with the practical importance of your work in daily organic farming practices.

Your profile

• Ph.D. in Quantitative Genetics or Population Genetics
• Have at least basic programming skills (in particular, experience working with scientific languages (e.g. R and Python), and willingness to become proficient.
• Be familiar with breeding programs and breeding goals
• Have a strong interest for animal welfare and health
• Be a team player and a good communicator
• Be fluent in English (written and spoken)

Who we are
QGG is an international research center with more than 70 employees and visitors from more than 22 nations worldwide. We offer a dynamic research environment where we value ownership, responsibility and a respectful workplace culture. We conduct basic and applied research within quantitative genetics and genomics and our research is characterized by a very close collaboration with industry partners. Hence, you will be part of a research environment where results are put to practice and are used by industry and in public sector consultancy to facilitate the green transition. QGG is part of Aarhus University (AU), a world class university. The city Aarhus is an exciting place to live with a strong student community and a high standard of living.

Place of Work
The place of work is C. F. Møllers Allé 3, 8000, Aarhus C, in the centre of the Aarhus University main campus, and neighboring highly related departments..

Contact Information
Further information about the position may be obtained from Senior Researcher, Hanne Marie Nielsen, e-mail: [email protected].
Deadline
1. October 2024.

Application procedure
Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified 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 each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. 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.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it 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/

Department: Kvantitativ Genetik og Genomforskn/Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics

Deadline: 01 October 2024

Location: Aarhus C C.F. Møllers Allé 3