Full Professor and Chair Food Chemistry
Posted Updated
Description
Due to the upcoming retirement of the current chair holder, a vacancy has arisen for a Full Professor and chair in the Laboratory of Food Chemistry, part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The group has an outstanding international reputation in research and education in the field of food chemistry.
The mission of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry is to understand, harness, and expand nature’s potential for the production of food and food ingredients while educating and training future generations of food scientists and technologists, and lay the basis for industrial and societal value creation. The group’s research focuses on understanding food raw materials and ingredients at the molecular level, by establishing structure-function and structure-reactivity relationships of carbohydrates, lignin, proteins, lipids, phytochemicals, plant bioactives, and flavor compounds. A central element is the research on and application of enzymatic and mild chemical modifications to tailor the functionality, stability or bioactivity of food components. Through these activities, the group contributes to the development of stable, tasty, healthy, digestible, and/or bioactive food ingredients, as well as sustainable industrial bioprocess optimization.
The group has strong expertise in analytical food chemistry, which is enabled by substantially investing in and utilizing a state-of-the-art analytical platform (e.g., various (HP)LC systems, LC-HRMSn, cIMS, MALDI-TOF-MS, various GC-MS systems, and NMR facilities), in addition to wet chemical and microbial (ML-II) lab facilities. This core analytical food chemistry research is complemented by molecular and predictive modelling. The group is responsible for 12 courses in the BSc and MSc study programs of food technology, biotechnology, and human nutrition (and contributes to 12 more courses from other groups) and supports about 15 BSc theses, 30 MSc theses and 40 industrial internships yearly. Educational innovation and digital learning material development are top priorities for the group.
The position of chair of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry offers you the opportunity of creating synergy and strengthening the group’s scientific focus and visibility, while also developing your academic leadership profile. In this role, you are responsible for both the academic and operational management of the group. Your responsibilities will include setting up the research strategy together with your team, guiding a diverse team of scientists, lecturers, and support staff, in addition to further expanding the group’s national and international network. In addition, you will contribute to high-quality education at the BSc, MSc, and PhD levels and help drive innovation in teaching, supporting WUR’s strong reputation in higher education. You will contribute to the Food Sciences and Technology Cluster at Wageningen University, comprising the five chair groups Food Process Engineering, Food Physics, Food Quality and Design, Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology. The Food Cluster vision is to create novel mechanistic understanding and to invoke new principles to pro-actively enable our society to tackle the challenges of turning the world’s harvests into safe, healthy and enjoyable foods for our changing populations, for decades to come.
The Laboratory of Food Chemistry harbours 1 Chair Holder, 6 Assistant and Associate Professors, 4 Lecturers, 2-3 Postdoctoral Researchers, and approximately 20-30 PhD candidates. The group is supported by a shared team of professionals including 6 technicians, and 1 secretary. The group is divided into 6 themes: Carbohydrates, Lignin and Enzymology, Proteins, Lipids, Phytochemicals, Plant Bioactives, and Flavor Chemistry.
More information on the group can be found on the website and LinkedIn.
The mission of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry is to understand, harness, and expand nature’s potential for the production of food and food ingredients while educating and training future generations of food scientists and technologists, and lay the basis for industrial and societal value creation. The group’s research focuses on understanding food raw materials and ingredients at the molecular level, by establishing structure-function and structure-reactivity relationships of carbohydrates, lignin, proteins, lipids, phytochemicals, plant bioactives, and flavor compounds. A central element is the research on and application of enzymatic and mild chemical modifications to tailor the functionality, stability or bioactivity of food components. Through these activities, the group contributes to the development of stable, tasty, healthy, digestible, and/or bioactive food ingredients, as well as sustainable industrial bioprocess optimization.
The group has strong expertise in analytical food chemistry, which is enabled by substantially investing in and utilizing a state-of-the-art analytical platform (e.g., various (HP)LC systems, LC-HRMSn, cIMS, MALDI-TOF-MS, various GC-MS systems, and NMR facilities), in addition to wet chemical and microbial (ML-II) lab facilities. This core analytical food chemistry research is complemented by molecular and predictive modelling. The group is responsible for 12 courses in the BSc and MSc study programs of food technology, biotechnology, and human nutrition (and contributes to 12 more courses from other groups) and supports about 15 BSc theses, 30 MSc theses and 40 industrial internships yearly. Educational innovation and digital learning material development are top priorities for the group.
The position of chair of the Laboratory of Food Chemistry offers you the opportunity of creating synergy and strengthening the group’s scientific focus and visibility, while also developing your academic leadership profile. In this role, you are responsible for both the academic and operational management of the group. Your responsibilities will include setting up the research strategy together with your team, guiding a diverse team of scientists, lecturers, and support staff, in addition to further expanding the group’s national and international network. In addition, you will contribute to high-quality education at the BSc, MSc, and PhD levels and help drive innovation in teaching, supporting WUR’s strong reputation in higher education. You will contribute to the Food Sciences and Technology Cluster at Wageningen University, comprising the five chair groups Food Process Engineering, Food Physics, Food Quality and Design, Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology. The Food Cluster vision is to create novel mechanistic understanding and to invoke new principles to pro-actively enable our society to tackle the challenges of turning the world’s harvests into safe, healthy and enjoyable foods for our changing populations, for decades to come.
The Laboratory of Food Chemistry harbours 1 Chair Holder, 6 Assistant and Associate Professors, 4 Lecturers, 2-3 Postdoctoral Researchers, and approximately 20-30 PhD candidates. The group is supported by a shared team of professionals including 6 technicians, and 1 secretary. The group is divided into 6 themes: Carbohydrates, Lignin and Enzymology, Proteins, Lipids, Phytochemicals, Plant Bioactives, and Flavor Chemistry.
More information on the group can be found on the website and LinkedIn.