Are you an ambitious data scientist eager to build a career in academia? Are you passionate about advancing human nutrition and health through innovative data-driven research? We are looking for an Assistant Professor to strengthen our team at the exciting intersection of data science, nutrition, and health. Could you be our new colleague?
What are you going to do?
In this role, you will contribute to cutting-edge research and education at the forefront of nutrition and health. The Division of Human Nutrition and Health offers access to a unique collection of large-scale, deeply phenotyped and genotyped human dietary intervention and cohort studies. You will work with a rich variety of data sources, including dietary and lifestyle information, multi-omics data, functional measurements, sensor data, and clinical data. By integrating these complex datasets, you will investigate their relationships with both short- and long-term health outcomes. Using advanced data science approaches, including state-of-the-art AI methods, such as machine learning and knowledge-based methods, you will tackle high-dimensional biological data to uncover new insights into the connections between nutrition and health.
In addition to your research activities, you will play an active role in teaching and supervision in the areas of data science, nutrition, and health, inspiring and supporting students at Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD level.
You will collaborate with nutritionists, epidemiologists, and (molecular) biologists as well as other data-scientists in a WUR-wide network, and will thus work in an interdisciplinary setting.
This position is part of the Academic Career Framework (ACF) at Wageningen University & Research. One of the 3 career paths is the Professor Career Path. The aim of this ACF is to achieve a new balance in recognising and valuing academics where both team collaboration and the unique talent of individual scientists are seen, by creating more differentiation in career paths, putting the emphasis on the quality of work and less on quantitative results, doing justice to the individual qualities and ambitions of academics as much as to team performance, promoting all aspects of open science and encouraging high-quality leadership in the academy.
You will work here
The research is embedded within the chair group Nutrition, Metabolism and Genomics, which is led by Prof. dr. Lydia Afman, as well as within the chair group Nutrition and Disease, which is led by Prof. dr. Ellen Kampman. You will be co-supervised by Dr. Fränzel van Duijnhoven.
In this challenging career trajectory:
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you will establish and lead a novel research line in data science within the field of nutrition and health;
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you acquire, lead and implement innovative and creative(inter-) national research projects in the Nutrition, Metabolism and Genomics group as well as the Nutrition and Disease group;
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you collaborate with colleagues and supervise PhD students, BSc and MSc theses;
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you develop and teach innovative courses in the field;
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you contribute to the further development of the Nutrition, Metabolism and Genomics group as well as the Nutrition and Disease group.
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you have a completed PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Nutrition and Health, Biomedical Sciences or a related field;
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you have a strong track record in data science, including experience with machine learning and high-dimensional data;
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you have demonstrable expertise or affinity with nutrition and health research;
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you have a proven ability to publish high-impact scientific work;
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you show potential to acquire competitive research funding;
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you are motivated to teach, and to supervise students at different academic levels;
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you are pro-active, self-motivated, and adaptable in a dynamic research environment;
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you possess strong collaboration and communication skills in interdisciplinary settings;
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you have good English writing and oral communication skills (C2 level).
Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
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sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
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working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
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there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
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a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
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excellent pension scheme.
In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will be offered a fixed-term, 18 months contract which, upon positive evaluation, can lead to a permanent employment contract. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €4728,- and €7297,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11-12).
If you are an internal employee, your current contract is the starting point. Ask your HR Business Partner about your situation specifically. We encourage development and internal mobility within our organisation. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.
You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.
Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.
Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example helping your partner to find a job, housing, or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.
For more information about the position, please contact Prof. Lydia Afman, telephone number +31 317 485789 or by email: [email protected] or Dr. Fränzel van Duijnhoven, telephone number +31 317 485375 or by email: [email protected].
Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Evelien Janssen, Corporate Recruiter, via email: [email protected].
Ready to apply?
Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.
You can apply up to and including August 24th, 2026. Please note that due to holidays we will not start the reviewing process before the closing date. Internal candidates are preferred to apply before the 12th of July 2026.
Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.
Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!
We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.
