PhD Opportunities in Dairy Cattle Host–Microbiome Research at University of Milan University of Milan in Italy

PhD opportunities are open at the University of Milan in the PhD Programme in Agriculture, Environment and Bioenergy (AAB) for the 2026–2027 cycle. Two fully funded PhD projects are available under the supervision of Xiaoxia Dai, a Tenure-Track Researcher at the University of Milan.

The projects focus on dairy cattle host–microbiome research and combine several interdisciplinary areas. RUMEN-LIFE studies the longitudinal determinants of rumen development and host–microbiome adaptation in dairy cattle, integrating animal physiology, microbiology, molecular biology, and longitudinal field studies. RUMEN-REG investigates regulatory signatures of host–microbiome interaction using multi-omics, bioinformatics, and AI/ML approaches.

Students with interests in RNA-seq, small RNA biology, computational biology, machine learning, and reproducible data science are especially encouraged to apply. The opportunity is embedded in the official University of Milan PhD selection process, and all admissions and scholarship allocations will be handled through that process.

Interested candidates should read the official programme information and application details, then apply via the University of Milan’s official PhD call. Prospective applicants may also contact the supervisor to discuss the projects and research directions.