Professor in Food Microbiology: Applications of microbes in the food chain (KU Leuven)

There is a full-time academic vacancy in Food Microbiology in the Centre of Food and Microbial Technology, Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, at the Leuven campus in Belgium.

You are expected to set up an innovative and internationally oriented research program aimed at elucidating the role and advancing the use of microbes in the food chain. Possible uses include the production of fermented foods, microbes as foods, food enzymes and food ingredients, the bioconversion of side streams into valuable foods or food ingredients, the creation of flavor and other quality attributes, nutrient enhancement and gut health, and the biocontrol of pathogens and spoilage organisms. Research programs integrating a fundamental and an applied component are particularly encouraged. As such, the program will address scientific questions related to the microbial ecology of the food production chain and the genetic, physiological and metabolic properties of specific members of food microbial ecosystems, and it will envisage the engineering of microorganisms for improved or novel functional properties and the analysis of these properties in model or real food systems.

You will also contribute to education within the area of food science and technology, in particular in the fields of food microbiology, microbial fermentation and/or food safety and quality systems.

A detailed description of the profile and the offer can be found on the KU Leuven job site: https://bit.ly/3WlhH0n. Applications can be submitted until December 12, 2024.