Tenure-Track Junior Professor Chair: Host-microbiome Relations for Health

Tenure-Track Junior Professor Chair: Host-microbiome Relations for Health

INRAE - National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment

Paris, France

INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) is a public research establishment under the dual authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Research. It is a community of 12,000 people with more than 200 research units and 42 experimental units located throughout France.

The institute is among the world leaders in agricultural and food sciences, in plant and animal sciences, and is 11^th in the world in ecology and environment. INRAE’s main goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. In the face of the increase in population, climate change, scarcity of resources and decline in biodiversity, the institute develops solutions for multiperformance agriculture, high quality food and sustainable management of resources and ecosystems.

Work environment, missions and activities

Nature and purpose of the research project to be developed and related activities:

Over the past 15 years, a large number of research studies and clinical evidence point to the microbiome as essential to the health of individuals, its imbalance (resulting from exposomes, genetic backgrounds, various histories) being a major cause for the onset and aggravation of chronic pathologies, which are on the rise worldwide. Although the symbiosis between host and microbiome is crucial for human development and health, the functions and mechanisms involved in this host-microorganism dialogue remain poorly characterized. Thus, the understanding of this symbiotic relationship and its disruption, its functional characterization and the understanding of the cellular and molecular dialogue between host and microbiome are interdisciplinary scientific fronts. This chair is aimed at studying interactions between host and commensal microorganisms with the objectives: (i) to identify the role of bacteriophages (viruses infecting bacteria) in the host-microbiome symbiosis or its disruption; and (ii) to use bacteriophages as levers to modulate or rectify unbalanced microbiomes ("ecological KO"), including by acting via food, an actor potentially impacting the behavior of some types of bacteriophages. Individual variability will necessarily be analyzed in order to design innovative personalized approaches to prevention and therapy.

Nature and purpose of the teaching project:

The teaching project (48 h Tutorial group equivalent) will be carried out within the framework of the Master's degree in Integrative Biology and Physiology (BIP) led by the Graduate School Biosphera at the University of Paris-Saclay. From 2023, you will contribute to the realization of massive and open online courses (MOOC) for M1 and M2 levels laying the foundations of (i) metagenomic data analysis, (ii) analysis of the microbiota virome, and (iii) modulation of the intestinal microbiota. From 2024 onwards, you will contribute to practical courses in the form of tutored projects allowing students to acquire both the methodologies in molecular ecology appropriate for the study of microbiota and their diversity, and to conduct tutorials allowing students to acquire skills in the analysis of metagenomic datasets. This choice gives sufficient flexibility to integrate your expertise and to valorize it as much as possible in this training framework. Indeed, the project of this chair concerns a scientific frontier that is a source of potential innovations: the study of the host-microbiome symbiosis by the virome with a focus on functional approaches, taking into account individual variability and certain aspects of synthetic ecology whose concepts and issues will be taught to young scientists in training. You will participate in the internationalization of this Master.

Funding and related resources:

Package ANR: €200 000
Package INRAE: €180 000
Total: €380 000

You will conduct your research in the UMR Micalis with time sharing in the MetaGenoPolis unit. Both units are located at the INRAE Center in Jouy-en-Josas.

Training and skills

• PhD or equivalent.

You have a PhD or equivalent, and if not already done, you will prepare and defend your HDR (Habilitation to Supervise Research) during the period of the Chair. You have a first experience of supervision.

You will carry out a research project on the role of bacteriophages in the human digestive ecosystem, with the objective of understanding their interactions with the rest of the microbiota, as well as their possible modulation by the diet, thanks to data from the French Gut cohort. You have experience in the field of metagenomics, bacteriophages and/or host-microbiome interactions, with skills that justify the feasibility of your project and that can interface with the expertise in bacteriophage biology present in the unit.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

• 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
• parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
• skills development systems: training, career advise;
• social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
• holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
• sports and cultural activities;
• collective catering.

International scientists, please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE.

Type of contract

Tenure-Track Junior Professor Chair is a new career route at INRAE. It enables the recruitment of scientists based on a research and teaching project that lasts three years. At the end of this period, and following an assessment of your scientific achievements and professional capabilities, you may obtain a full-tenure position as Research Director (DR2).

A research and teaching agreement will specify the path you will follow towards full-tenure and enable you to acquire the qualifications necessary to become a full-tenure Research Director in your field.

You have until April 21, 2023 to submit your application. Only candidates previously selected on file by the selection committee will be invited to the hearing.

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