PRR Project

Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Assistant Researcher to contribute to research activities within the Food and Nutrition Line of the Research Centre (CBQF), specifically within the Food Microbiology group. This group focuses on food safety and quality, including the adaptation, survival, and virulence of microorganisms to stresses imposed by the food supply chain, microbial ecology studies, biological control strategies, and the impact of microbial metabolites.As a member of this team, the Assistant Researcher will be involved in developing and executing innovative research projects targeting gaps in our knowledge of the diversity, functional capacity, growth conditions, and more, of food/environment/human gut microbiomes. It is expected that the Assistant Researcher will foster the advancement of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics technologies in the Food Microbiology group, taking a leading role in new and active projects involving the analysis of whole-genome sequencing, metagenomic, and proteomic data derived from environmental, food, and clinical origins. This is in line with the objectives of the EU Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy, which emphasise the importance of innovative technologies in the transition to sustainable food systems. Omics-based approaches, offer unprecedented insights into the mechanisms behind adverse effects in food, thereby enhancing the ability to assess hazards and risks more comprehensively. The potential of the application of omics and related bioinformatics approaches cuts across many of the CBQF´s research lines and groups, leading to a wide range of developments and collaboration with other groups specially those working on computational and machine learning methods.The Assistant Researcher will also take a lead role in applying for competitive grants or research funding, develop links with relevant stakeholders for collaborative research, write scientific papers/presentations for scientific and professional meetings, and assist in communicating research findings. Additionally, the Assistant Researcher will be involved in training and supervising young researchers.Profile:Doctoral degree in Biotechnology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, or related areas.Minimum of 5 years of relevant working experience in the field of microbiology or related areas.Expert knowledge in nucleic acid-based methods.Skills in statistical analysis.Interest in combining bioinformatics and microbiology.Supervision of young researchers.Participation in national and international research projects.Relevant track record of scientific publications (H-index preferably not lower than 20).Participation in science communication activities for different target groups.Recognition of scientific merit by international entities.