This open PhD position is embedded in a ground-breaking collaboration between the Livestock Technology group (prof. Ben Aernouts) and the research group for Insect Production and Processing (prof. Jeroen De Smet) at KU Leuven campus Geel. This consortium offers an internationally oriented, productive, collaborative, and multi-disciplinary environment. The Livestock Technology group aims at developing and testing innovative sensor technology, data processing algorithms and digital decision support tools to improve animal management. Their fundamental research activities deal with novel measuring concepts and advanced data-analytics, while the applications cover automatic assessment of animal behaviour, welfare, health, production efficiency and product quality. The Research Group for Insect Production and Processing focuses on biological and (bio)chemical challenges within the industrial insect production and processing value chain. These challenges range from the exploration of the biological and chemical safety of insects to improving/increasing production, processing and usage of insect and insect-based products. Their research relies on a wide array of technologies, for example biological strategies (e.g. probiotics, fermentation) and/or new chemical/physical extraction procedures (e.g. for protein or chitin). The proposed PhD position will support their research on developing novel methods to better score the impact of different strategies to improve insect behavior/welfare and productivity.
KU Leuven is a research-oriented institution that is consistently ranked among the top research universities in Europe. The campus in Geel is located in a green and rural environment, in close collaboration with research institutes, industry and insect farms.
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Project
In the past ten years, the production of insects for food and feed is booming in Europe. Of particular interest are the larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF), who demonstrate a remarkable capacity to convert organic wastes into valuable nutrients. The rise of this sector also emerged a variety of challenges and research questions. Funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), the EntoBOOST project (10/2024 – 9/2028) brings together expertise from KU Leuven, the universities of Ghent, Antwerp and Insubria (Italy), Inagro and Thomas More to improve our understanding of insect physiology, biology and behaviour for optimal rearing and to optimize strategies for producing safe insect products with favored biological and nutritious properties.
The open PhD position will address one of the main research questions of the project, aiming to identify and monitor useful behavioral indicators for BSF larvae reared at large scale with the help of novel sensor technology and data science. Following this approach, we will investigate how stressors such as high larval density and suboptimal climate conditions or substrate (feed) properties affect the behaviour and welfare of the larvae. To this end, advanced camera technology (high resolution RGB, visible and near-infrared multispectral and thermography), simultaneous gas (carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrous oxide, methane) emission measurements and standard rearing parameters (larval growth and survival, substrate humidity, pH and composition) will be combined with computer vision and machine learning techniques. The behavior indicators will be monitored throughout the rearing process to identify normal behavior and detect abnormalities and perturbations due to challenges and stressors.
The technological and insect rearing aspect of the PhD research are supported by the KU Leuven experts of the Livestock Technology (LT) and the Insect Production and Processing (IP&P) research groups, respectively. Experiments will be performed at the SymBIOnt Insect Pilot Plant of KU Leuven and Thomas More in Geel and the insect rearing facilities of Inagro. This PhD will also collaborate with the Toxicological Centre of the University of Antwerp, responsible for the development and validation of a metabolomics platform to identify biomarkers linked to stress in BSF larvae and reveal pathways underlying behaviour and welfare in insects.
Profile
To perform this novel and application-oriented research, we are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate that:
- holds a MSc degree in biosciences, bioscience-engineering, engineering (technology), data science, artificial intelligence or equivalent. The MSc degree should be obtained with minimal distinction in the last 3 years at a university in the European Economic Area (EEA)
- is eager to perform research on the crossroads of bioscience, data science, engineering and precision farming
- is hands-on with a creative, critical, analytical and innovative mindset
- has good oral and written communication skills in English
- is eager to work in a multidisciplinary and diverse team of national and international researchers and learn to explore innovative technologies
- is interested in building a career in IoT, sensor technology, computer vision or data science
Experience with scientific data-processing software (such as Matlab, Python, R, C, Labview, or equal) is a plus, as well as experience with machine learning techniques.
You are not eligible for this position if you don’t hold a MSc degree with minimal distinction obtained in the last 3 years at a university in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Offer
We offer a fulltime PhD position with competitive salary for 4 years, preferably starting on the 1st October 2024. Our young, dynamic and multidisciplinary team will support you in all aspects to successfully obtain your PhD degree and proper scientific training at a top-ranked university, with excellent education and learning opportunities. You will work closely together with experts and research institutes from different fields, have opportunities to participate in national and international meetings, establish your own network and gain experience in transferal skills.
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Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Ben Aernouts, tel.: +32 14 72 13 64, mail: ben.aernouts@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Jeroen De Smet, tel.: +32 16 37 95 27, mail: jeroen.desmet@kuleuven.be.
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