DTU PhD Scholarship in Natural Product Chemistry 2026: Deadline, Eligibility & Funding

DTU PhD in Natural Product Chemistry 2026 at a Glance

Research Focus: Microbial Natural Products and Sustainable Biofungicides

The project focuses on discovering and characterising microbial secondary metabolites with potential applications in sustainable agriculture. A central objective is to identify bioactive natural products that can contribute to development of new biofungicides.

The research sits at the interface of analytical chemistry, microbiology, genomics and biotechnology. The PhD candidate will work with microbial strains and combine chemical analysis with genomic and biosynthetic approaches to understand and exploit natural-product diversity.

Methods and research themes

• microbial natural product chemistry;
• metabolomics and genome-mining;
• high-resolution LC/MS;
• MALDI imaging;
• NMR spectroscopy;
• chromatographic isolation and purification;
• biosynthetic pathway analysis;
• bioinformatics and microbial genetics;
• microbial strain engineering; and
• bioactive metabolite discovery for crop-protection applications.

DTU Bioengineering provides a multidisciplinary research environment with analytical and molecular-biology infrastructure relevant to modern natural-product discovery.

Sino-Danish Center and DTU–UCAS Double-Degree Structure

The project is financed by the Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research (SDC) and includes collaboration with Professor Xiujie Wang at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS).

The selected PhD candidate is expected to undertake an external research stay in Beijing at the Beijing Institute of Genomics. The vacancy states that the PhD structure leads to a double degree from DTU and UCAS.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must hold a master’s-level qualification that meets DTU’s admission requirements for PhD study.

• Academic qualification: a two-year master’s degree equivalent to 120 ECTS, or an academically equivalent qualification.
• Applicants finishing a master’s: candidates may apply before the degree certificate is formally issued, but the qualifying master’s degree must be completed before employment begins.
• English: fluent written and spoken English is required.
• Research fit: the applicant should have a strong scientific background relevant to natural-product chemistry, microbial biotechnology or related disciplines.

International applicants can apply if their academic qualifications are assessed as equivalent to the required Danish master’s level.

Research Background DTU Is Looking For

The vacancy seeks an ambitious chemist with experience in microbial natural products and omics-based approaches. Applicants do not need to present every technique as an existing strength, but the application should show a credible match to the project’s core methodology.

Particularly relevant experience

• natural product chemistry and biosynthesis;
• microbial secondary-metabolite research;
• LC-MS or high-resolution mass spectrometry;
• MALDI imaging;
• NMR spectroscopy and structural elucidation;
• genome-mining and metabolomics;
• microbial genetics and strain engineering;
• bioinformatics;
• plant–microbe interactions; and
• research related to biological crop protection or biofungicides.

Personal and collaborative qualities

DTU also emphasises scientific curiosity, commitment, strong written and oral communication, teamwork and the ability to collaborate internationally.

Funding, Salary and Employment Conditions

The selected candidate will be employed as a PhD fellow at DTU for three years. Salary and employment conditions follow the applicable Danish collective agreement for academic staff and DTU’s rules for PhD fellows.

The employment structure normally provides the statutory employment protections and benefits associated with salaried Danish university positions, subject to the applicable agreement and DTU employment rules.

How to Apply

The application must be submitted through DTU’s official online recruitment system by 31 October 2026 at 23:59 Danish time. Late applications are not considered.

Required application package

The vacancy instructs applicants to submit the application materials in English as one PDF package containing:

• motivation letter / cover letter explaining scientific fit and motivation for the project;
• curriculum vitae;
• BSc and MSc diplomas;
• BSc and MSc grade transcripts;
• official explanation of the grading scale used by the degree-awarding institution; and
• contact details for two referees.

How to make the motivation letter specific

Avoid a general-purpose chemistry statement. Instead, connect previous research directly to the methods or questions in this project. A strong letter should make clear:

• which microbial, chemical or omics-based research problems you have already worked on;
• which experimental or computational techniques you can bring to the project;
• how your experience prepares you for natural-product discovery and biosynthesis research;
• why sustainable biofungicide development interests you; and
• why the DTU–UCAS international structure fits your doctoral goals.

Project contact

The vacancy identifies Ling Ding as the contact for questions related to the position.

DTU Background-Check and Research-Security Notice

DTU states that qualified candidates may be subject to an open-source background check as part of the recruitment process. The university notes that some of its research activities fall within areas covered by critical-technology, export-control or research-security considerations.

This should not be interpreted as an additional academic qualification. It is part of DTU’s institutional recruitment and compliance process for relevant research environments.

CareerAidHub Application Guidance

Demonstrate research capability, not just technique familiarity

Instead of stating that you have “used LC-MS,” explain what scientific question you investigated, what samples or organisms you analysed and how the results informed the research.

Show cross-disciplinary readiness

This project spans chemistry, microbiology, genomics and biotechnology. Candidates with depth in one area should explain how they have already worked across disciplinary boundaries or how their existing expertise can transfer into the other parts of the project.

Address the Beijing research stay

The UCAS collaboration and external stay are integral to the programme. Treat this as part of the scientific training plan rather than an incidental mobility component.

Researchers can also review CareerAidHub’s PhD opportunities, scholarships, and research jobs.