Early-Career Postdoctoral Researcher - Fungal Biotechnology

The successful candidate will join the research team developing UV-CELIUM (UV-Induced Mutations as Drivers of Fungal Adaptation to Complex Biomass), a research project focused on understanding how controlled ultraviolet stress can drive the adaptation of edible filamentous fungi to complex agro-industrial substrates.

The project combines fungal biology, molecular responses to environmental stress, UV technology, solid-state fermentation, food science and biomaterial characterisation to develop a new framework for transforming underutilised agro-industrial biomass into functional mycelium-based materials.

Scientific background sought

We are particularly interested in candidates with a PhD and research experience in one or several of the following areas:

• Fungal molecular biology, genetics or genomics
• Fungal physiology and stress responses
• Transcriptomics and gene-expression analysis, particularly RNA-seq
• Experimental evolution, adaptive responses or microbial adaptation
• Filamentous fungi and/or fungal biotechnology
• Fungal metabolism and secondary metabolism
• Bioinformatics applied to fungal genomics or transcriptomics

Experience with Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Pleurotus or other filamentous fungi would be particularly valuable.

Additional experience in solid-state fermentation, food biotechnology, lignocellulosic biomass, microbial biotechnology or fungal biomaterials will be considered an advantage but is not essential.

We are especially interested in candidates bringing a strong molecular and mechanistic perspective that complements the existing expertise of the research team in UV technologies, food processing, solid-state fermentation, fungal cultivation, rheology and valorisation of agro-industrial by-products.

Main tasks

The researcher is expected to investigate how sublethal UV exposure affects fungal physiology and adaptation, and how these responses influence the ability of fungi to colonise complex agro-industrial substrates.

Activities may include:

• Characterisation of phenotypic and adaptive responses of edible filamentous fungi to controlled UV stress.
• Differential gene-expression and pathway analysis to identify molecular mechanisms associated with UV stress, recovery and adaptation.
• Investigation of whether UV-induced responses are maintained when fungi are transferred from conventional culture media to increasingly complex agro-industrial substrates.
• Molecular characterisation of selected UV-adapted fungal phenotypes and, where appropriate, integration with whole-genome sequencing to investigate potentially stable genetic changes.
• Integration of molecular responses with solid-state fermentation performance and the mechanical and viscoelastic properties of the resulting fungal matrices.

Candidate requirements

• PhD in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Mycology, Food Science, Food Biotechnology or related disciplines.
• Strong research background in fungal biology, microbial physiology or microbial adaptation.
• Good publication record according to the candidate's career stage (expected around 8 publications in top tier journals).
• Strong English skills (B2 level or higher).
• Ability to work independently and within a multidisciplinary and international research environment.
• Previous experience with filamentous fungi, genome sequencing, fungal stress responses, application of non-thermal technologies (especially UV) or solid-state fermentation will be positively valued.

Eligibility and funding

Candidates must fulfil the eligibility requirements of the Juan de la Cierva 2026 call (PhD defence date between January 2024 and December 2026). The research group will support the candidate in preparing the grant application.

Conditions

• Duration: 3 years, according to the Juan de la Cierva fellowship conditions.
• Workplace: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra (Barcelona, Spain).
• Supervision: Professors from the Food Technology Area, with expertise in fungal biotechnology, solid-state fermentation and UV processing technologies.
• Expected start date: According to the timeline established by the Juan de la Cierva 2026 call.

What we offer

The selected candidate will receive support from the research team and UAB in preparing a competitive Juan de la Cierva application.

Beyond the fellowship application, the position offers the opportunity to develop a coherent postdoctoral research line combining molecular mycology with an emerging field of fungal biomaterials and circular food biotechnology.

The candidate will have access to fungal cultivation and microbiology laboratories, solid-state fermentation facilities, UV processing technologies, chromatography, rheology and texture analysis, together with UAB scientific services for microscopy, spectroscopy, chemical analysis and genomics.

The researcher will also be encouraged to develop their own scientific ideas, supervise MSc/BSc students, participate in international collaborations and contribute to new national and European research proposals.

Application

Interested candidates should submit:

1. A short CV, including publication list.
2. A brief motivation letter describing their research background and how it could complement the project (1 page).
3. Date of PhD defence or expected PhD defence (up to December 2026).
4. Contact details of one or two academic references.

Applications from international candidates are strongly encouraged.