Junior Research Scientist in Microbial and Cellular Interactions

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

Junior Research Scientist in Microbial and Cellular Interactions

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

Rennes, France

Research field: Microbiology
Contract: permanent position

Get to know us

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) is a public research organisation. It is a community of 12,000 people with more than 200 research units and 42 experimental units located throughout France. As the first research institution in Europe for animal and plant sciences, INRAE carries out mission-oriented research for high-quality and healthy foods, competitive and sustainable agriculture and a preserved and valorised environment.

What will be your mission?

You will join the STLO Joint Research Unit (Science and Technology of Milk and Eggs, UMR1253, INRAE Institut Agro), which comprises around 140 people (including 80 permanent staff members). The STLO Joint Research Unit studies the components of milk and eggs, as well as their processing. By incorporating plant-based ingredients, the research seeks to find a better balance between animal and plant proteins and to reduce the environmental impact of food. In this way, it contributes to innovation in creating food that is safe, healthy, enjoyable, environmentally friendly, and tailored to the needs of specific populations. The STLO Joint Research Unit is divided into three research teams, and you will be part of the MicroBio team, which comprises around thirty people (25 permanent staff, including 13 scientists). The MicroBio team focuses on adaptive functions and interactions between bacteria, their environment, and the host. Its goal is to better understand these interactions to control and direct them toward specific functionalities related to the techno-functional, organoleptic, health, and nutritional qualities of food, as well as human and animal health and well-being. This research is conducted within the context of the dairy production chain to produce safe, sustainable, functional, and healthy fermented foods.

Your work will focus on studying intercellular communication (bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-eukaryotic cells) mediated by bacterial extracellular vesicles. The goal is to identify the bacterial effectors involved and the signalling pathways activated, as well as to characterize the functions and molecular mechanisms governing intra- and interspecies interactions. Cross-kingdom interactions will be studied in vitro, in the context of bacterial-host interactions and human digestive inflammation, on intestinal epithelial cell models of varying complexity (from single to multicellular) and in vivo where necessary, in collaboration with partner teams. Initially, you will work on the role of extracellular vesicles produced by Propionibacterium freudenreichii, a technologically significant bacterium with probiotic properties (anti-inflammatory, protection of the epithelial barrier) in both intra- and interspecies communication. This work will contribute to the team’s research on the reasoned construction and management of bacterial communities for targeted functionalities and the development of innovative biotherapy approaches via postbiotics.

You will benefit from a supportive environment for developing your research theme, with robust study models, adapted scientific, technical, and infrastructure resources, and a collaborative network rich in both academic and industrial partnerships. In addition, you will have the opportunity to participate in interdisciplinary projects (e.g., ANR, PIA4, PEPR), which use innovative approaches, especially in studying and exploiting extracellular vesicles for human health applications.

What are the conditions for applying?

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent).

Training in microbiology, molecular biology, and/or cellular microbiology would be desirable, as well as experience in the field of extracellular vesicles and a good foundation in cell culture. Skills in bacterial physiology and metabolism, comparative and functional genomics, and the ability to acquire and analyze "omics" data would be highly appreciated.

The successful candidate should have strong interpersonal skills, keen observation abilities, and a preference for teamwork.

Candidates should have a good command of English (both written and spoken), and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

Location:
35000 RENNES (FRANCE)
https://www6.rennes.inrae.fr/stlo

Contact:
Éric GUÉDON: eric.guedon@inrae.fr
Yves LE LOIR: yves.le-loir@inrae.fr

How to apply

Join our research teams by sending in your application to our open competitions for research scientists until March 4, 2025.

The selection process includes a pre-selection based on the scientific file in April 2025 (no physical presence required), followed by final selections through interview, scheduled from June 2 to 18, 2025. Appointments will start from September 1, 2025.

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