The Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS) is an interfacultary research institute from the Faculties Veterinary Medicine and Medicine, and the departments Biology and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Science Faculty at the Utrecht University. The mission of IRAS is to provide research and education on human health risks of exposure to potentially harmful agents in the environment, at the workplace and through the food chain. IRAS has three research divisions. The Environmental Epidemiology division performs epidemiological research on respiratory, cardiovascular and carcinogenic health risks in relation to biological and chemical exposures. Within the Veterinary Public Health division research is conducted to identify and study possible adverse health effects from microbial and non-microbial agents occurring in food derived from the animal production process. Research within the Toxicology division covers the part of the risk assessment in which the availability and dose – adverse health effect relationships of toxic substances are studied. The aim of IRAS is to perform quality research with a high relevance for society.
PhD-researcher in Microbial Ecology (1,0 fte)
Job description
The PhD project makes part of an NWO-sponsored national programme on the baseline of soil functioning and the effects of transgenic plants on soil micro organisms. In this project, the PhD fellow will work in a collaborative manner with a Postdoc and a PhD fellow at the Microbial Ecology unit at RuG in a programme that aims to establish the baseline (normal operating range) of microbial functioning and community structure in agricultural soils under crops, in order to support risk assessments of GM crops. In the light of the great complexity of the soil microbial system, the emphasis will be on carbon and nitrogen cycling processes and selected organismal groups at the basis of the food chain, i.e. bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The methods to be used to unravel the functioning as well as community structures of soils include diversity analyses of micro organisms and protozoa by fingerprinting methods and micro arrays, functional gene activities and stable isotope probing coupled to soil respiration. The focus of the work will be on the rhizosphere of common crop plants, that is, the narrow zone around the crop roots, in which the putative effects on the soil biota are the highest. A range of typical Dutch soils will be investigated over several years, in connection with field trials with potatoes. The baseline for soil functioning established for each soil will be used as the comparator against which the effects of GM plants can be weighed in risk assessment procedures.
The objectives of the PhD are to assess the efficiency of soil carbon cycling and to simultaneously determine the diversity of the responsible consortia of bacteria, archaea, fungi and protozoa. This is achieved through studying the degradation of plant material labelled with stable isotopes (13C), and through analyzing the structure of the active degrading community by molecular approaches (DNA-SIP and structural community analysis such as fingerprinting methods and cloning / sequencing).
Qualifications
We are looking for an enthusiastic candidate carrying a masters or equivalent degree in microbiology/ecology with a strong background in molecular biology and modern soil microbiology. The project is demanding and will ask for strong teamwork, dedication as well as creative minds. Next to this, the candidate should have strong interest in modern soil microbiology research and affinity with experimental work with soil micro organisms. Good proficiency of the English language is required.
Terms of employment
The IRAS can offer you a temporary full time appointment of one year with the perspective of prolongation with another 3 years. The gross salary starts with € 2,000.- per month in the first year and increases to € 2,558.- per month in the fourth year of employment (salary scale “P” Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities).
Secondary benefits, based on the Collective Employment Agreement of the Dutch Universities are excellent in general and include e.g. a pension scheme, flexible employment conditions and salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 6.4% per year.
Further details
For more information please contact dr. Heike Schmitt +31 30 253 5372 or h.schmitt@uu.nl.
Additional information can be obtained through one of the following links.
About the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS): www.iras.uu.nl
About the Microbial Ecology group at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen http://www.rug.nl/biologie.
How to apply
Please send your written application, with motivation, curriculum vitae and addresses of two references, to the personnel department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine attn. Mr A.H. Bloemers, by e-mail to vacatures1@vet.uu.nl. Please send your application before 23-04-08 and refer to vacancy number 12826.
NON EU-passport holders need not to respond.
Publication date
01-04-2008
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