Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Food Science programme. The position is available from 01 October 2026 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.
Title:
Controlling Potato Lipolysis and Oxidation Suppression for High-Quality Protein Recovery
Research area and project description:
Today, potato food-grade protein side-stream is underutilized for human consumption due to off-flavors. This protein-rich side-stream, a by-product of potato starch production, amounts to approximately 100 kton of protein annually in the EU, alone. Unlike many other plant proteins, potato protein offers excellent nutritional value with a complete essential amino acid profile and good functional properties as a food ingredient.
Although already approved for human consumption, its application in food products is limited, and most of it is currently used as animal feed. Recent studies within our group suggest that lipolysis and lipid oxidation initiated by endogenous potato enzymes are key contributors to off-flavor formation.
Although lipids only constitute ~0.3% of the raw potato, the high proportion of phospholipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids provides ample substrate for enzymatic degradation. The enzymes patatin (a group of multifunctional lipases) and LOX are known contributors to lipid breakdown and oxidation in other plant systems, yet their specific roles and interactions during potato protein processing remain poorly understood. The lack of detailed knowledge about the enzymatic and chemical pathways leading to off-flavour formation, especially during the extraction and concentration of potato protein, represents a major scientific gap and an industrial bottleneck.
Your primary focus will be conducting research to create fundamental understanding to convert the unutilized, protein-rich plant side-streams into a valuable food ingredient. We aim to screen a variety of potatoes for enzymatic activity to find the best performing varieties. You will specifically target identification of off-flavor molecules found in the high-quality protein side-streams from potato starch production—compounds that currently prevent these proteins from being used in food. The focus will be to understand the chemistry of the matrix and chemistry taking place during processing. A primary focus will be to identify effective procedure for enzyme inhibition either as a part of downstream processing or by adding inhibitors.
The candidate must be interested in combining chemistry and downstream processing.
Be aware that teaching is part of your obligations.
Project description. For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please simply copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.
Qualifications and specific competences:
Applicants to the PhD position must have a master’s degree in Food Science, Food Chemistry and Technology, Chemistry, or other relevant areas.
Place of employment and place of work:
The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Food Science, Section of Food Chemistry, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark.
Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:
For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:
How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.
Application deadline is 14 August 2026 at 23:59 CEST.
Preferred starting date is 01 October 2026.
Please note:
Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which everyone has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with applicable collective agreement.
