The PhD position is in the VUA’s Department of Ecological Science, and within the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network (MSCA-ITN) project “Best chemical risk assessment professionals for maximum Ecosystem Services benefit (PRORISK)”.
The PhD student will focus on investigating the effects of chemical stressors on ecosystem services (i.e. soil fertility) provided by soil micro-arthropods and on linking gene expression and individual level responses by combining Adverse Outcome Pathway and trait-based approaches.
Effects of selected chemicals will be studied at different levels of biological organization, from gene expression to population and potential for recovery using the springtail species
Folsomia candida (Collembola). A trait-based approach will be combined with functional endpoints to establish the role of Collembola in soil fertility (i.e. N cycling). An Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) approach, extended with biochemical and physiological endpoints and dedicated microcosm data on Collembola communities and combined with trait-based approaches will be explored as a tool for predicting effects on ecosystem services.
The PhD student will be employed and enrolled in the doctoral programme at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. International collaboration is foreseen with Aarhus University in Denmark (2-month secondment – investigating effects of non-chemical stressors on the role of Collembola in ecosystem services) and ECT Oekotoxikologie in Flörsheim, Germany (2-month secondment – linking population level to ecosystem level effects by performing TME experiments).
PRORISK (
www.prorisk-itn.eu) is a European Training Network funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 859891. The consortium comprises of 18 universities, research institutions, enterprises and partner organisations in 9 European countries and Canada, creating a novel platform for training a network of Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the field of advanced Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA). Research and training are provided through PhD programs. The PRORISK training programme and secondments in international, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral teams in academia, industry and regulatory bodies will enable ESRs to address exposure, ecotoxicology, ecosystem services, as well as assessment and modelling of risks and their socio-economic impacts. The ESRs within PRORISK will gain professional skills allowing them to develop and implement innovative ERA concepts and tools to link the effects of chemicals at different levels of biological organization to ecosystem services and determine the socio-economic values of related environmental impacts. Each ESR will complete a comprehensive personalized career development programme, with targeted training measures and participate in a range of network events. The ESR will benefit from interdisciplinary cooperation and interaction within the network, providing them with the best preparation for a successful career in either academia or industry.