PlantLink

PlantLink News February

In this first newsletter of the decade we are pleased to present a long list of positions. Some have short deadlines, so have a fast scroll through the list. Keep updated on events for the FAO Year of Plant Health, the Sustainability week, PlantLink activities and upcoming courses and projects in the region. We look forward to a very active plant initiative period this spring!

  1. PlantLink 50% Coordinator – deadline 5 February! 
  2. Symposium on cover crops, SLU Alnarp 
  3. Plant Biology Europe 2020 – Travel grants before 31 January! 
  4. GroGrund funding decided 
  5. PlantLink Open strategic network meeting 13 March 
  6. Post-doctor position at Novo Nordisk 
  7. Four post doc positions out at SLU Alnarp! 
  8. Six BECC postdoc positions out (LU/GU)! 
  9. Two PhD-positions LU 
  10. PhD course “Accelerating climate resilient plant breeding by applying –omics and artificial intelligence”, 20-24 April 2020 at SLU Alnarp
  11. FAO International Year of Plant Health events 
  12. PlantLink and Forskningsnätet Skåne looking for 2-week summer projects 
  13. Sustainability week 21-24 April 
  14. Food faculty workshop 
  15. Food faculty seminar 
  16. KSLA seminar on cereals and health 5 February

1.PlantLink 50% coordinator – deadline 5 February!

We have decided to strengthen the coordination part and have announced a 50% 2-year position as a PlantLink coordinator. This position is now advertised here

Deadline of application 2020-02-05.

2. Symposium on cover crops, SLU Alnarp

Subsidiary crops are grown primarily for their ecological services rather than producing marketable crop yield. The interest in subsidiary crops in the form of various living mulches and cover crops has grown substantially in the last years but many of the proposed benefits and risks of subsidiary crops remain poorly documented. The aim of this symposium is to more closely identify these knowledge gaps. An international guest speaker will showcase a potential approach for developing subsidiary crop use with a cropping system perspective.

Date and time: Tuesday March 3, 9.30-16.00. (Coffee from 9.00)

Place: Terra Nova, Agricum, Slottsvägen 2, SLU Alnarp

Cost: Free of charge and open for anyone to attend. Lunch and coffee included.

Registration: Via the link below, no later than February 24:

www.slu.se/registrationsubsidiarycrops

You can find the program and more information here: https://www.slu.se/ew-kalender/2020/3/subsidiary-crops-symposium/

3. Plant Biology Europe 2020 – Travel grants, deadline 31 January!

EPSO wishes to encourage the development of ideas and imaginative thinking in the plant sciences and, therefore, offers two awards to young scientists planning on attending the joint EPSO / FESPB Plant Biology Europe Conference 2020  Turin, Italy, 29.6. – 2.7.2020.

The awards cover registration and travel (max. 400 €) includes the opportunity to present a lecture during a plenary of the congress. Each awardee will receive 200 € from EPSO. Applications are invited from PhD students working on either fundamental or applied aspects of research on plants.

PhD students wishing to apply should submit the completed application form.

Applicants can be nominated by others, and to be eligible they should be working in an institute/university that has EPSO institutional membership (check online). Please send your entry to epso@epsomail.org with the subject “EPSO Young Plant Scientist Award 2020” until 31.1.2020.

Call text and Application form are at https://epsoweb.org/all-events/plant-biology-europe-2020-turin-italy/

4.GroGrund funding decided

Good news from the government on the GroGrund project! SLU will receive 20 million SEK 2020 and 10 milj/ year (2021-2025) to continue to develop SLU Grogrund. This means that GroGrund will in all have 40 million SEK during 2020 and then 30 million SEK per year during 2021-2025. Read more about the decision here (in Swedish).

5. PlantLink Open strategic network meeting

As we have previously announced PlantLink is in the processes of initiating a discussion on how we can collaborate better between plant networks and initiatives in the region. We have therefore invited stakeholders for a meeting in Lund 13th March starting with lunch. Please register here.

We hope to share everyone’s experience and thoughts on how to excel plant research, education and innovation in Skåne!

6. Post-doctor position at Novo Nordisk

The Marquardt lab at Copenhagen Plant Science Centre is looking for a Post-doctoral fellow to work under a Novo Nordisk Foundation-funded project to exploit the lncRNA-based gene regulation to improve cold tolerance in cassava. Please look into the attached pdf document for detailed information. All your emails should be addressed to sebastian.marquardt@plen.ku.dk

Deadline: 22nd February 2020.

7. Four post doc positions out at SLU Alnarp!

There are currently 4 post doc positions out at SLU Alnarp related to plant science, sort based on “ort Alnarp” here: https://www.slu.se/om-slu/lediga-tjanster/

PostDoc – Studies of lipid metabolism for the elucidation of genetic and enzymatic effects on plant oil composition Deadline20200131
PostDoc – Genetic regulation of plant storage products and starch structure in higher plants Deadline 20200131
Postdoc in genomic selection for wheat Deadline 20200229
Postdoc in Eco-evolutionary Plant pathology: a novel approach to optimize biocontrol of strawberry diseases Deadline 20200214

8. Six BECC postdoc positions out (LU/GU)!

Read the announcements for postdoc positions in the Strategic Research Area “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate” (Becc) at Lund University and Gothenburg University here:

https://www.becc.lu.se/article/6-becc-postdoc-positions-at-lund-university-0

9. Two PhD-positions, LU

Two new PhD students are being recurited at the Department of Biology and Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University.

PhD student in Environmental Science

The student will investigate the role that roads and road verges play for pollinator populations, with the aim to identify optimal pollinator conservation strategies along roads. The project is a collaboration between Lund University and the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). More information and details on how to apply: https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:312320/

PhD student in Biology

To mitigate loss of farmland biodiversity, including insect pollinators, much effort has been spent on preserving and managing semi-natural grasslands. In this project, the student will investigate if management of the landscape surrounding semi-natural grasslands can enhance their conservation value for flower-visiting insects. More information and details on how to apply:https://lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:312068/

10. PhD course “Accelerating climate resilient plant breeding by applying –omics and artificial intelligence”, 20-24 April 2020 at SLU Alnarp

This course (3 ECTS) will provide theoretical and practical aspects to generate and use ‘-omics’ data as well as remote sensing for plant breeding – from sampling to interpreting the results and finding biologically relevant conclusions.

Lecturers: Kristina Gruden (NIB Slovenia), Dan Jacobson (ORNL), Antoine Harfouche (UNITUS), Ian Dodd (Lancaster University), Aakash Chawade (SLU), Rodomiro Ortiz (SLU), Annabel Large (ORNL/SLU), Svante Resjö (SLU), Therese Bengtsson (SLU) and Erik Alexandersson (SLU, course leader)

This course is a joint PhD-student course by the SLU Platform Plant Breeding and the Industry Research School of Forest Genetics and Biotechnology.

Read more and register here

11. FAO International Year of Plant Health events

A lot of events will be organized in connection with the UN International Year of Plant Health!

Keep an eye on the calendar, where exciting events will be announced:

https://www.slu.se/en/Collaborative-Centres-and-Projects/platform-plant-protection-slu/iyph2020/iyph-2020-events-at-slu/

12. PlantLink and Forskningsnätet Skåne are looking for 2-week summer projects for high school students

Researchers! Do you have a suitable 2-week internship this summer? For a eight consecutive year, PlantLink and “Forskningsnätet Skåne” are looking for short summer internships at SLU Alnarp and Lund University for 2 school students over the age of 18 entering their last year of high-school study and who are especially interested in science and research.

“Forskningsnätet Skåne” has been promoting the contact between high school students and universities by bringing academic researchers to the class rooms during the last 15 years and will grant stipends for the selected students. PlantLink supports the hosting research group with 5000 SEK/student. The students can be guided by researchers at any level, but the project should contain some practical aspects. If you have a suitable project please contact Erik Alexandersson (erik.alexandersson@slu.se)

13. Sustainability week 21-24 April

Sustainability week will, for the 4th consecutive year, take place this spring on 20-24 April in Lund. Events of all kinds and sizes are being planned. If you have an idea, please contact Ludwig Bengtsson Sonesson. This year there is a special focus on four themesThe road to (net)zero emissions, Can we afford the future? Living in the sustainable city and Sustainable land use.

14. Food faculty workshop

Workshop: LU Food Faculty & EIT Food KIC, 12 Feb at 13.15-16, KC:I & H Kemicentrum, Lund. Tentative program:

(1) Information from LU Food Faculty

(2) EIT Food KIC – What is this, and how can researchers at LU benefit?

(3) Information about current Swedish research calls (Formas, Vinnova etc.)

(4) Two parallell workshops: A. Research network (find your proposal partners), B. Food Faculty Activity Agenda 2020. 

Register here before 31 January.

15. Food faculty seminar

Welcome to this seminar on The future of food trade and consumption on 31 January in Helsingborg.

16. KSLA seminar on cereals and health 5 February

Seminar: KSLA – Can cereals contribute to sustainable health? 5 Feb, Stockholm. (The seminar will be held in Swedish).