Projeto PRR

Sumário

RATIONALE FOR THE NEED TO HIRE THIS CHAIRThe World Health Organization (WHO) leads efforts to create sustainable and nutritious food systems, emphasizing health-promoting foods, safety, and efficacy. WHO also provides evidence-informed recommendations on sugar intake to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in both adults and children. It recommends that adults and children limit their daily intake of free sugars, ideally below 5% of total energy intake, equivalent to a maximum of 25 g per day. Unhealthy diets, characterized by high sugar content and low fiber content, contribute to global health disorders linked to microbiota dysbiosis. These disorders include digestive issues, compromised immunity, mental health conditions, metabolic diseases, cardiovascular problems, inflammation-related conditions, and skin disorders. Addressing these issues, the food industry is shifting towards more sustainable, nutritious, and low-sugar options. This transition has spurred the growth of the market for functional products, which is expected to increase by 6.93% annually from 2023 to 2032. These figures highlight the increasing importance of developing novel sustainable functional foods containing bioactive ingredients, including prebiotics, probiotics, phytochemical antioxidants, and polyphenols. It includes validating health claims for food and nutraceuticals targeting the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In vivo models have been extremely useful in understanding these interactions. However, its use is limited by associated ethical concerns, high costs, low representativeness, and low reproducibility. Therefore, new and improved dynamic gastrointestinal in vitro models may be the key to aiding in the development of targeted interventions. In response to the urgent need for healthier food options, CEB proposes 1 research position focused on developing innovative foods tailored to the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In this scientific profile, CEB aims to invest in a position dedicated to investigating novel functional foods and their effects on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, employing both in vivo trials and novel dynamic colon models.SCIENTIFIC PROFILE REQUIREDThe ideal candidate should have a PhD in chemical and biological engineering, or food science and technology and nutrition, with a background in prebiotics, probiotics, fermented food, microbiota, gut-brain axis, as well as in gastrointestinal dynamic models. A strong proven track record, demonstrating high-quality research in this field, will be highly valued. Experience in doctoral supervision, management of research projects, and participation in outreach events will also be valued. TASKS TO BE ASSIGNED TO THE PROSPECTIVE RESEARCHERThe candidate to be recruited will be required to conduct original research focused on the development of innovative, sustainable functional foods. The aim is to provide solutions for the food industry by creating foods targeted to human microbiota well-being and contributing new insights into their activity through gastrointestinal digestion in the gut-brain axis. It is expected a solid contribution to the body of knowledge on this field, as assessed through scientific publications and/or gastrointestinal prototypes.The selected candidate will also be required to be actively involved in grant proposal development, by participating in large R&D projects submission and also to secure his/her research projects, as principal investigator. As such, project management will be a pivotal duty of this Chair.Recruiting undergraduate students will also be pivotal for the successful development of this Chair. As such, formal supervision duties, for both MSc and PhD students, will be required.The selected researcher will also be encouraged to establish and develop new collaborative networks with both national and international researchers, that can complement the ongoing efforts related to microbiota-targeted food and gastrointestinal digestion models. In line with this duty, it is expected that the candidate will participate in international events.The chosen candidate will also be required to participate in CEB outreach events and will be given the liberty to propose and organize novel outreach events. Furthermore, the candidate will also be stimulated to participate in the governing of CEB, as an active member of its scientific council, and will be encouraged to engage in specialized governing committees.