10 PhD Fully Funded Positions in Europe in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, Microbial Ecology, Ecotoxicology, Molecular Biology

 10 PhD Fully Funded Positions in Europe in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, Microbial Ecology, Ecotoxicology, Molecular Biology

10 PhD Fully Funded Positions in Europe in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry, Microbial Ecology, Ecotoxicology, Molecular Biology: Improving monitoring and environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals, antimicrobial resistance and pathogens from terrestrial to aquatic environments:

Pharm-ERA context; Pharmaceutical micro-pollutantsare chemicals used for human and animal health care that are found everywhere including in soil, water and sediment. This chemical contamination is usually associated with microbiological contamination (by microorganisms and/or their genetic material) from humans, animals and the environment. Both PhACs and microbiological contaminants contribute to the development and dispersal of antimicrobial resistances and pathogens in terrestrial and aquatic environments, generating adverse effects and risks on biodiversity and ecosystem health. It can lead to huge repercussions on human and animal health as stated in the World Health Organisation’s ‘One Health’ approach, which recognizes that human health is closely connected to animal health and our shared environment.

While invisible to the naked eye, terrestrial and aquatic microbial communities harbour high abundance and enormous taxonomic and functional diversity, which provide a wide range of ecological functions and services. These functions and services include primary production, organic matter degradation, nutrient recycling, soil fertilisation, pollutant dissipation, etc., which are essential for the proper functioning of ecosystems and, as a consequence, for human and animal well-being and health. Moreover, high microbial diversity can act as a barrier against the invasion of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms and pathogens in the environment.

Preserving ecosystem health from pharmaceuticals, their transformation products, antimicrobial resistance and pathogens thus requires efficient monitoring strategies and appropriate environmental risk assessment to protect microbial diversity and functions in terrestrial and aquatic environments. This is required, for instance, by the EU Water Framework Directive, needed for the prioritisation of emerging chemical and microbiological contaminants, and imperative to contribute reaching several United Nation Sustainable Development Goals.

Pharm-ERA objectives:

• Pharm-ERA pursues three principal inter-linked research objectives structured in four research work packages (Wps)
• – Research objective 1: Assess and predict the fate of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products along the soil-water-sediment continuum using in silico tools and innovative approaches in environmental and analytical chemistry [WP3]
• – Research objective 2: Investigate the ecotoxicological effects [WP4] and environmental risks [WP5] of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products on soil and aquatic ecosystems taking into account effects at different levels of biological organisation from molecular early responses to microbial community effects
• – Research objective 3: Determine the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance and pathogens establishment and dissemination along the soil-water-sediment continuum with a specific focus on the role of microbial diversity, environmental continuum (between connected compartments), pharmaceutical contamination and various environmental factors (e.g. kind of substrate colonised by aquatic microorganisms, organic matter content in soil and sediment, etc.) [WP6]

The operational objective is to boost the rational development and implementation of operational tools and methods from Pharm-ERA at EU level for improving the monitoring and the a priori & a posteriori environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals , antimicrobial resistanceand pathogens, as well as for preserving microbial diversity and functions from terrestrial to aquatic environments.

Pharm-ERA provides the gear-shift necessary to tackle these urgent needs, sitting at the frontier of recent advances in the complementary fields of environmental chemistry, microbial ecology, molecular biology, ecotoxicology, and environmental fate & effect modelling. Pharm-ERA proposes a novel position as we integrate ecosystem compartments across soil, water and sediment to better consider the wide environmental distribution of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products, as well as the specificities and interconnection of the terrestrial and aquatic microbial communities.

Pharm-ERA doctoral network: Pharm-ERA will tackle this challenge by overcoming the lack of appropriate PhD training programmes, which are mostly mono-disciplinary, mono-sectoral and/or only focused on one environmental compartment. We will thus implement a high-level training programme involving world-leading scientists and institutions highly experienced in previous European projects, internationally recognized experts from different public and private non-academic structures, as well as environmental managers and policy makers.

Different methods will be tailored to the 10 PhD Projects to reach the research objectives: (1) Cutting-edge analytical methods in environmental chemistry with the development of TP analyses by High Resolution Mass Spectrometry; (2) Multi-Omics, innovative approaches combining meta-genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics; (3) Mesocosm experiments to establish cause-effect relationships in controlled conditions and identify specific microbial responses to pharmaceutical exposure; (4) Field surveys to apply, test and validate the methods in situ, and (5) Up-to-date modelling methods to simulate the fate and effects of unknown transformation products. These methods will be applied in interlinked research WPs .

Pharm-ERA offers 10 PhD positions: Ten doctoral positions are offered within the HORIZON Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network Pharm-ERA : “Improving monitoring and Environmental Risk Assessment of PHARMaceuticals, antimicrobial resistance and pathogens from terrestrial to aquatic environments”.

By joining Pharm-ERA, you will integrate a high-level interdisciplinary and intersectoral research and training network based on 10 doctoral projects covering scientific disciplines including environmental and analytical chemistry, microbial ecology, ecotoxicology, molecular biology (incl. multi-omics approaches) and chemical fate/effect modelling. Pharm-ERA involves 9 Beneficiaries (including 2 non-academics) and 6 Associated Partners (including 5 non-academics), committed to contribute to research, training, dissemination, communication and exploitation of results targeting end-users such as environmental consultancies and agencies.

General recruitment criteria

• MSCA Mobility Rule: researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment,
• All researchers recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment),
• Scientific excellence to fit the PhD project,
• Fluent (oral and written) English skills as the project operates in English language,
• Knowledge of the language of the host country may be considered a merit,
• Team-mindedness.

Timeline

• 14th April 2024 – 6:00 pm french time: deadline for applications,
• 16th April 2024 to 31st May 2024: evaluation of the application by Pharm-ERA selection committee,
• best CVs for interview (by Skype, zoom, Microsoft Teams etc.),
• Spring 2024: starting of the procedure for the employment of ESRs, according to the Beneficiary and MSCA rules,
• 1st September-31st October 2024: Enrolment of selected candidates in doctoral schools according local rules. 

How to apply to Pharm-ERA?

1. Select your topic in the PhD offers page & download the detailed offer, please note that it is possible to apply for several offers
2. Download application form (here) and fill it indicating all the offers you wish to apply for. Save it with the name “PhD application form – YOUR NAME (first and last)”
3. Send your application by email to pharm-era@inrae.fr. The title of your email MUST be : Pharm-ERA PhD x, x, x application (x, x, x being the number(s) of the PhD position(s) you want to apply for). Please favor sending documents using a file transfer solution (e.g. wetransfer)
4. Be careful to join all documentation required (see list below)
5. You will receive an aknowledgment of receipt within the next 2 working days (if it’s not the case, send an email to pharm-era@inrae.fr)
6. DEADLINE for application is April 14th 2024, 6:00 pm french time

Documentation to be sent in by applicants:

• Application form completed
• Letter of motivation
• Contact of two reference persons to be contacted by the selection committee (name, relation to the candidate, e-mail address and phone number)
• CV
• Complete list of publications and academic works
• Proof of language proficiencies
• Proof of master diploma or 2024 registration to master degree

List of the 10 PhD positions:

Contact: pharm-era@inrae.fr