Postdoc position Infant Gut Microbiome and Breast milk sugars

 

Are you the enthusiastic scientist with a PhD, who wants to focus on understanding the function of our microbiome? Are you interested in how microbes can improve the health of babies? We have a vacancy for a postdoc on infant gut microbiome and breast milk sugars. Are you are new colleague?

What are you going to do?
The Microbes Mucus and Milk research group at the Laboratory of Microbiology seeks to recruit a Postdoc in Infant Microbiome Microbial Networks. The aim of the FUCOQUEST project is to understand the molecular mechanism that the microbes use to degrade human milk sugars and how microbial networks contribute to infant gut health. As postdoc you will (among others) perform:

• bioinformatic and biostatistics analyses for microbiota profiling on samples from a clinical trial;
• cultivate several microbial strains and synthetic microbial communities;
• operate anaerobic fermenters. 

Human Milk is the main important nutrition of most infants. Apart from serving the nutritional needs of the infant it feeds the microbes in the infant gut.  In this study we aim to understand how the utilization of human milk sugars by the gut microbiome can affect the gut function as well as the formation and development of a healthy infant gut microbiome in infants and toddlers. 
 

We ask

• you have a PhD degree in either Microbiology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology or similar;
• you have experience with anaerobic culturing, molecular techniques, microbial fermentation in bioreactors;
• preferably you have understanding of microbiome research;
• preferably you have experience in MATLAB, R, Python or similar programming languages;
• be able to communicate with different academic and commercial partners.

Your excellent scientific writing skills (fluent in English) can be proven by publication record

We offer

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €2846,- and €4490,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with th eCollective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). 

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the Best University in the Netherlands for the 17th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
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. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. 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 helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

More information

Do you want more information?
For more information about this position, please contact dr. C. Belzer, Associate Professor, telephone +31 639267137 or by e-mail: clara.belzer@wur.nl.
For more information about the procedure, please contact Joes van Meurs HR adviser, telephone +31 317 480101 or by e-mail: joes.vanmeurs@wur.nl.

Do you want to apply?
You can apply directly using the apply button on the vacancy page on our website which will allow us to process your personal information with your approval. 
Don’t wait with your application. As soon as we have good candidates, we will start scheduling the first interviews. Will we talk to you soon?

Equal opportunities 
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) employs a large number of people with very different backgrounds and qualities, who inspire and motivate each other. We want every talent to feel at home in our organisation and be offered the same career opportunities. We therefore especially welcome applications from people who are underrepresented at WUR. For more information please go to our inclusivity page. A good example of how WUR deals with inclusiveness can be read on the page working at WUR with a functional impairment.

We are

The Microbe Mucus and Milk research team investigates the role of microbes for human health. We discover new microbes and characterize special microbial mechanisms that benefit the health of humans. We are especially interested in non-pathogenic microbes that grow on human milk and human mucus. 

Within the Laboratory of Microbiology metabolic interactions in anaerobic microbial communities are studied. Anaerobic microorganisms are isolated and characterized, and their metabolic pathways and key enzymes are investigated. Integrated cultivation-dependent and molecular approaches, including state-of-the-art genomic and proteomic technologies, are applied in our research. Further information: http://www.mib.wur.nl/UK/.

The Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group is part of Wageningen University & Research, an organisation that brings together fundamental and applied scientific research. We work on creating ‘healthy food in a biobased society’ with private sector companies, research institutes and government agencies in the Netherlands and abroad. Our innovations play a crucial role in solving the major issues which affect society today. Entrepreneurship and professionalism are key in all that we do. In short, we are a major international employer offering considerable potential for your career.

The mission of Wageningen University and 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, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen’s unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

Read the 5 reasons why your future collaegues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video 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.

Apply now