The Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Institute of Molecular Plant Biology is currently seeking a

PhD Position (3 years): Advancing Sustainable Soybean Protein
Quality through Molecular Design (FFG-funded position)

In Austria, the cultivation of soybean has quadrupled in two decades, placing Austria among the top soybean producers in the EU. Yet Europe remains heavily dependent on imported soybean protein. Can we redesign soybean itself to close this protein gap sustainably, efficiently, and locally?

We are offering a fully funded 3-year PhD position (FWF salary scheme) to develop next generation soybean lines with drastically reduced trypsin inhibitor activity, without compromising protein quality.

The Challenge

Soybean protein is the gold standard in animal nutrition, but anti-nutritional trypsin inhibitors limit its full potential, as they restrict protein digestibility and require energy intensive heat treatment before feed use.

This project aims to:

• Reduce trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors (equivalent to thermal processing), while maintaining high levels of essential sulfur amino acids
• Understand regulatory mechanisms behind inhibitor expression
• Pursue established CRISPR/Cas-based breeding strategies
• Evaluate economic feasibility for Austrian breeding programs

By minimizing the need for heat treatment, this research could save significant energy, improve feed efficiency in pigs and poultry, and reduce Europe’s reliance on imported protein.

Your Role

You will join a consortium comprising research groups at BOKU and an Austrian breeding company, focusing on the following areas:

• CRISPR/Cas editing of soybean inhibitor genes
• Soybean transformation & regeneration (cotyledon-node systems, somatic embryogenesis)
• Gene expression and protein analyses
• Phenotypic and biochemical characterization of edited plant lines
• Contribution to economic and breeding integration assessments

Preliminary work has already optimized transformation protocols for Austrian soybean genotypes.

We Are Looking For

• MSc in plant sciences, biotechnology, molecular biology, or related field
• Hands-on experience in plant tissue culture desirable
• Experience with molecular cloning and/or CRISPR is a plus
• High motivation for applied, impact-driven plant research
• Ability to work in an interdisciplinary consortium Experience with soybean regeneration or transformation will be considered a major asset.

Why This Matters

Strengthening regional protein crops is central to the EU ‘Protein Strategy 2020+’.

This project directly contributes to:

• Reduced import dependency
• Lower carbon footprint of livestock production
• Energy savings in feed processing
• Innovation in European plant breeding

What We Offer

• 3-year fully funded PhD position (FWF-based salary)
• Start: June/July 2026
• Cutting-edge molecular and tissue culture infrastructure
• Strong collaboration between academia and plant breeding industry
• Opportunity to contribute to sustainable protein supply in Europe

For further information and application details, please contact:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christian Luschnig (Project Lead)

Institute of Molecular Plant Biology

Dept. of Biotechnology and Food Sciences

BOKU University

Muthgasse 18

A-1190 Wien

e-mail: christian.luschnig@boku.ac.at

Applications can be submitted until: 30th of March 2026