Introduction

UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

Presentation

The Department of Fundamental Microbiology offers a postdoctoral position in the microbiome and One Health assessing for sharing of AMR and other bacterial strains within the context of a One Health framework.

 

This positions aims at elucidating strain sharing within different domains including animals, humans, environment and food in a study conducted in Jijiga, Ethiopia. The successful candidate will work on analysing the sharing of AMR strains and genes as well as the microbiome using different techniques of classical microbiology for bacterial isolation and resistance testing as well as computational tools for analzing microbiome data and perform comparative genomics on whole genome sequenced strains.

The Vonaesch lab is hosted by the Department of Fundamental Microbiology in Lausanne. Our work is centered on the role of the microbiota and the gut ecosystem in different forms of malnutrition to contribute to the understanding of the syndromes and harness then this knowledge to develop powerful interventions strategies and treatments. We are also more generally interested in the role of the microbiota in the triad linking gut health, infection and nutrition as well as in the influence of other domains (human, animal, environmental) on the human microbiota. To this purpose, we perform clinical/translational projects, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) and analyze the underlying molecular mechanisms using in vitro and in vivo mouse models.

This postdoc position will offer you the opportunity to work alongside a young and dynamic team of microbiota experts. You will further be part of the vibrant microbiome scene in the Arc Lémanique and Switzerland, with ample possibilities for networking and collaboration.

Job information

Expected start date: 01.08.2024
Contract length: 1 year
Activity rate: 100%
Workplace: University of Lausanne

Your responsibilities

The candidate will be responsible for the wet-lab and computational work associated with the One Health Microbiome Project. After an introductory period, the candidate is expected to plan and execute his experiments independently. We expect the candidate to be experienced in epidemiology, statistics and microbiome research.

Your responsibilities will include:
•    Plan and execute wet lab and computational analyses
•    Help to maintain the biobank of isolated strains and the clinical samples from Ethiopia
•    Help to organize eventual amendments to the ethical protocol and other regulatory documents
•    Perform data analysis using R and other statistical programs as needed (shotgun metagenomics data)
•    Contribute to teaching duties (especially supervision of younger students) and general life at the Department of Fundamental Microbiology
•    Write reports and publications
•    Disseminate your results at national and international conferences
•    Other laboratory-based and analysis tasks as needed within the project and larger group

Your qualifications

•    An excellent PhD in science
•    Experience in epidemiology, microbiology and One Health
•    Former experience in working in a multicultural team
•    Excellent organizational skills and detail-oriented working style
•    Personal motivation and the ability to work independently as well as a member of a team
•    Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
•    A strong interest in the microbiome and in One Health

What the position offers you

We offer a stimulating position in a highly international and interdisciplinary environment both within the DMF at the University of Lausanne. Our lab is located on the University of Lausanne campus, only a few hundred meters from the shores of beautiful Lake Geneva and less than an hour from the mountains. Lausanne also has a rich cultural life to offer. Please visit our website for more information on our group, research interests and publications: https://wp.unil.ch/vonaeschlab/

Contact for further information

Prof. Pascale Vonaesch: pascale.vonaesch@unil.ch

Your application

Application deadline: until position is filled, at the latest until the 31.05.2024.

Please include your full application in a single PDF (motivation letter, CV, list of publications and the contact details of two referees). Only applications through the website below will be considered.

We thank you for your understanding.

 

Additional information

UNIL is committed to equal opportunities and diversity.
www.unil.ch/egalite

UNIL supports early career researchers.
www.unil.ch/graduatecampus