Have you always been wondering how our environment effects our health? And do you like dealing with complex data problems? Then the gravity programme on the Exposome might be the research programme for you. 
PhD project “Modelling urban environmental risk factors in Exposome-NL, a large Dutch Exposome research programme”. We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative Researcher to strengthen our research group. You will be working in a multi-center study funded by the prestigious Zwaartekracht programme of the Dutch research funding organization NWO. Exposome-NL is a 10-year research programme of multiple Dutch universities, coordinated by Prof Vermeulen (IRAS, Utrecht University). The environment we live in has a significant impact on our health, explaining an estimated 70% of the non-communicable chronic disease burden. As our environment is modifiable, this provides a huge potential for disease prevention. A large number of environmental stressors may jointly affect our health. Leading scientists in Europe and the USA have formalized this perspective as the Exposome concept: the sum of all non-genetic drivers of health and diseases. Interacting with the genome, it defines individual health at different stages throughout the life course. Supported by recent developments in sensor technology, satellite observations, smartphone technology and data sciences, now is the time to move Exposome research from concept to practice. EXPANSE will apply the Exposome concept to the Urban Setting, specifically the complex interplay between the built social, physico-chemical food, and lifestyle environment.

As a PhD student you will be responsible for developing tools to characterize the external Exposome for the Netherlands in close collaboration with other national partners. You will generate environmental exposure surfaces that will be linked to ongoing Dutch health studies. Examples include air pollution, noise, heat, green space and walkability of the environment. Your challenge will be to develop fine spatial scale models on the scale of the Netherlands, that can be applied in nationwide cohort studies of millions of subjects for multiple years to allow life-course health analyses. You will integrate time activity data to improve individual exposure assessment for selected exposures. You will collaborate closely with several Phd students within the Gravitation programme and with international partners from a large European Exposome project, also coordinated by Prof Vermeulen. You will publish the findings as papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These papers will form the basis of your PhD thesis.

We are looking for a colleague who has a completed Master's degree in environmental science, geos-, or science or a related discipline with a strong interest in environment and health. Our new colleague is a teammate, open to collaboration across scientific fields, and has the ambition to contribute to scientific progress as well as to perform socially relevant research. The candidate should be able to work independently and have good verbal and written communication skills in English and preferably Dutch.

We offer a temporary position (1.0 FTE) for one year. In case of a good performance, extending the employment is one of the possibilities. The gross salary ranges between €2,325 in the first year and €2,972 in the fourth year (scale P according to the Collective Labour Agreement Dutch Universities) per month for a full-time employment. Salaries are supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% per year. In addition, Utrecht University offers excellent secondary conditions, including the choice for a good balance between work and private (a good arrangement for leave, among other things), an attractive retirement scheme, (partly paid) parental leave and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). More information about working at Utrecht University can be found here.

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major societal themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Sustainability.

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has a unique position in the Netherlands. Not only is this the only institution where veterinarians are trained, but it is also where Researchers are working together on innovative scientific research. In addition, the faculty provides specialist clinical care in the largest academic veterinary hospital in Europe. Thanks to this position, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is a point of contact for all veterinary matters, both nationally and increasingly internationally. The faculty employs approximately 900 veterinarians, scientists and support staff and counts 1,500 students.

The project will be performed within the environmental epidemiology division of the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS). IRAS is an inter-facultary research institute within the Department Population Health Sciences of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. Its mission is to provide education and research on the human and environmental health risks of exposure to potentially harmful agents in the environment where research takes places within the domains of Toxicology, Environmental Epidemiology and Veterinary Public Health. The position will be linked to the Utrecht Exposome Hub.