Associate Professor (Independent Group Leader) in Data Science and Modelling of Whole-Cell Biosolutions - DTU Bioengineering

Are you ready to shape the future of sustainable agriculture? Join DTU Bioengineering as one of three new faculty hires in the Initiative for Biofertilizer Innovation and Science (IBIS), and contribute to building a world-class research hub focused on advancing microbial solutions for a sustainable future.

DTU Bioengineering is excited to announce three open faculty positions at the assistant or associate professor level, as part of the newly launched global initiative for Biofertilizer Innovation and Science. IBIS is a bold, five-year open-science initiative with the ambition to revolutionize whole-cell biosolutions in agriculture (BioAg). Our goal is to advance the fundamental understanding of what makes an effective biofertilizer and to develop the enabling technologies and translational framework needed to bring robust and affordable microbial solutions to farmers across the globe. The initiative is backed by 210 million DKK (approximately 30 million USD) in combined funding from the Gates Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Central to the initiative is the development of an open R&D playbook—freely accessible to researchers worldwide—to accelerate the discovery, maturation, and deployment of scientifically validated microbial biofertilizers.

DTU is coordinating the newly established IBIS consortium, which brings together leading partners from across Europe, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Each partner contributes unique expertise and experimental capacity spanning the entire biofertilizer R&D pipeline—from laboratory research to field implementation.

Together, the consortium will build a comprehensive Biosolutions Development Pipeline for microbial biofertilizers (whole-cell biosolutions), covering all key stages: discovery, characterization, fermentation, formulation, in planta performance, and in-field evaluation. DTU will host the laboratory phase of the pipeline, harnessing advanced robotic workflows and high-throughput screening technologies. Field trials and upscaling activities will be carried out through partner institutions across both the Global South and North, ensuring real-world testing across diverse agricultural contexts. Beyond the research itself, IBIS aims to implement standardized experimental protocols, harmonized data formats, and transparent documentation practices—laying the foundation for reproducible and collaborative research in biofertilizer innovation.

The IBIS development pipeline is designed to enable high-throughput benchmarking and advancement of new whole-cell–based biosolutions, supporting their journey from discovery to market launch. The IBIS consortium will use the pipeline to systematically evaluate hundreds of microbial biofertilizer strains, generating large-scale datasets across all stages—from laboratory experiments (thousands of strains) to in-field testing of up to 800 strains. The scale and standardized approach will create a unique foundation for advanced data analysis, including AI, machine learning, and statistical modeling, aimed at uncovering the key traits that define successful microbial biofertilizers, and to develop predictive models that can guide the rational design of next-generation BioAg products tailored for diverse agricultural systems around the world.

This Associate Professor position is one of three open faculty positions in IBIS, offering a unique opportunity to join a dedicated, international team of scientists working within the IBIS initiative at DTU and its partner institutions worldwide. You will work collaboratively to address foundational biological questions about the biology of microbial biofertilizers, enabling efficient engineering and development of solutions. Your contributions will also include developing and implementing new technologies essential to the Biosolutions Development Pipeline, as well as contributing to generating the comprehensive benchmarking dataset spanning laboratory to field.

Responsibilities
This position addresses one key scientific challenge in the IBIS initiative: the persistent disconnect between laboratory findings and the real-world performance of microbial biofertilizer solutions in the field. Your research will aim to close this gap by developing predictive models that leverage the unique benchmarking datasets generated in IBIS through the Development Pipeline. The establishment of efficient predictive tools connecting the lab-to-field performance will be a significant breakthrough for the rational design and deployment of next-generation BioAg products.

Your role in the IBIS development pipeline will be to integrate and analyze the high-dimensional benchmarking datasets to uncover patterns of performance across the R&D pipeline. Your work will begin with short-range predictive modelling within individual development stages and progress toward long-range predictions t