Aarhus University is seeking three postdoctoral fellows for research on metabolic dynamics and plasticity of acetogenic bacteria at the systems-level Full-time

Postdoctoral Fellows For Research On Metabolic Dynamics And Plasticity Of Acetogenic Bacteria

Aarhus University is seeking three postdoctoral fellows for research on metabolic dynamics and plasticity of acetogenic bacteria at the systems-level. Do you have a passion and vision for developing new platforms to unleash the power of microbial metabolism and physiology to find scalable solutions for CO2 capture and conversion? Come and be part of the team of Prof. Alfred Spormann in the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University to engage in cutting edge systems-level research in metabolic dynamics and plasticity of acetogens during gas fermentation! This Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded research project is a collaboration with three other, international research groups in the Netherlands and Germany.

The positions are available from 01st of August, 2026, and are fixed term positions of a 13-19 months' period.

The relevant research projects are:

1. Microbial plasticity upon perturbations in syngas fermentation. This project pursues approaches probing the systems-level plasticity of pure cultures of acetogens upon physical-chemical perturbations during syngas fermentation. This project involves detailed mechanistic and systems-level studies including, but not limited to, stable/radio isotope tracing experiments, metabolomic, and proteomic approaches, as well as genetic analyzes.
2. Role of microbial consortia in mitigating perturbation in syngas fermentation. This project pursues microbial population and ecological studies to examine the effect of diverse microbial consortia to mitigate perturbations in syngas fermentation of acetogens. The tools and approaches include, but are not limited to, monitoring microbial community dynamics upon perturbations using tools of molecular ecology, as well as tracking the composition and metabolic and physiological state of populations.
3. Microbial adaptive evolution to conditions of long-term syngas fermentations. This project pursues population genetic studies to identify emerging genetic variants as well as selectable traits during long-term syngas fermentation. Of particular interest are metabolic and ecological niches as they arise within the dynamically changing physical-chemical environment of large scale syngas fermentation. The approaches include, but are not limited to, building reactor platforms for studying adaptive evolution, operating long-term adaptive evolution experiments, tracking diverse populations during perturbations, as well as dissecting genotype-phenotype relationships in emerging mutants.

You should have a PhD in microbiology, population genetics or molecular biology, or closely related fields and have a solid background in microbial metabolism and metabolic (bio)chemistry, or population genetics. Candidates should also have extensive and demonstrated expertise in metabolism of acetogens and quantitative metabolic analyses. Experience in metabolomics, proteomics, isotope tracing experiments or genetic characterization of evolved strains from adaptive laboratory evolution experiments is a plus. Your high personal motivation and demonstrated scientific creativity will match that of our expert team.

We are a modern, state-of-the-art molecular and metabolic lab with a highly motivated and collaborative team of researchers, which is reflected in our use of English as the day-to-day language. The Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University is a leading European chemistry department with a broad research portfolio. It is undertaking a restructuring and will have a permanent staff of 43 full, associate and assistant professors, a support staff of ~40 technical and administrative staff, ~150 PhD-students and ~100 postdocs and around 350 students. In addition to excellence in research, teaching and supervision, the Department of Chemistry values equal opportunities, a collegial atmosphere, and a student-friendly mindset of future colleagues.

What we offer:

• Exciting, interdisciplinary research environment at the forefront of microbial systems-level biology for CO2 mitigation.
• Workday with daily contact with many different people in an international and creative research environment.
• A professional, but informal work environment.

The place of work is Gustav Wieds Vej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with affiliated institutions.