Postdoctoral position in host-microbiome interactions

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 host-microbiome interactions assessing the role of the early life gut microbiota in nutritional disorders.

 

Do you like to be part of a bigger team, working on molecular mechanisms but for a disease with a bigger implication? Do you like to work in a collaborative, dynamic and demanding environment? We offer a fully funded postdoc position in the Vonaesch lab at the University of Lausanne (https://wp.unil.ch/vonaeschlab/) aimed at disentangling the role of the microbiome, nutrition and metabolic diseases using gnotobiotic mice co-supervision and in close collaboration with Prof. Maria Luisa Balmer at the University of Bern (https://www.dbmr.unibe.ch/research/research_programs/balmer_lab/index_eng.html), where the gnotobiotic mice will also be hosted.
The project is funded through an SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) Starting Grant. The project is aimed at shedding light on strain-adaptation to changing nutritional environments and their pathophysiological consequences. The project combines work in a gnotobiotic murine animal model with different wet-lab and multi-omics techniques.

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. 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. The Balmer lab is hosted at the University of Bern (SITEM) and is interested in the role of the microbiome in overnutrition and metabolic disease.

 

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: 01.07.2024 or upon mutual agreement.
Contract length: 1 year, renewable 1 year
Activity rate: 100%
Workplace: University of Lausanne but with frequent work trips to Bern

 

Your responsibilities

The candidate will be responsible for in vivo experiments and subsequent sample analysis aimed at better understanding bacterial adaptation to malnutrition in the context of nutritional disorders and their effect on health. After an introductory period, the candidate is expected to plan and execute his experiments independently. We expect the candidate to be experienced in animal handling, ideally working with axenic or gnotobiotic mice, wet-lab experiments and, ideally, computational work.

 

Your responsibilities will include:
•    Plan and execute animal and wet lab experiments
•    Willingness to take part in the necessary regulatory courses as well as continuing education for the license to perform animal work
•    Help to organize eventual amendments to the ethical animal protocol
•    Help to organize the animal facility at DMF
•    Perform data analysis using R and other statistical programs as needed (both 16S and shotgun metagenomics data, metabolomics data, metatranscriptomics)
•    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

The candidate will be responsible for in vivo experiments and subsequent sample analysis aimed at better understanding bacterial adaptation to malnutrition in the context of nutritional disorders and their effect on health. After an introductory period, the candidate is expected to plan and execute his experiments independently. We expect the candidate to be experienced in animal handling, ideally working with axenic or gnotobiotic mice, wet-lab experiments and, ideally, computational work.

 

Your responsibilities will include:
•    Plan and execute animal and wet lab experiments
•    Willingness to take part in the necessary regulatory courses as well as continuing education for the license to perform animal work
•    Help to organize eventual amendments to the ethical animal protocol
•    Help to organize the animal facility at DMF
•    Perform data analysis using R and other statistical programs as needed (both 16S and shotgun metagenomics data, metabolomics data, metatranscriptomics)
•    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

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 the position is filled, at the latest until the 30.04.2024.

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