PhD Precision nutrition and postprandial responses

PhD Precision nutrition and postprandial responses

Published Deadline Location
2 Nov 25 Nov Wageningen

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Job description

PhD fellowship entitled: Dissecting individual’s variation in metabolic responses of fish, meat and plant-based meals with emphasis on glucose and lipid metabolism

This PhD fellowship/Research Doctoral Candidate (RDC) (RDC7) is part of the MSCA Doctoral Network NUTRIOME - Precision nutrition and postprandial immune responses. The NUTRIOME network involves academic partners at nine European academic institutions and six associated partners from industry across Norway, Poland, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Within this position. The purpose of the NUTRIOME network is to train 10 RDCs in data-driven precision nutrition through human intervention studies, omics-technologies and advanced data analyses, in order to evaluate personal responses to foods and diets.

General dietary guidelines aim to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic metabolic diseases such as diabetes, vascular diseases r, yet a “one-size-fits-all” strategy fails to take into account inter-individual differences in response to diet and meals. Before we can give people personalized dietary advice we need to achieve a better understanding of the underlying biological pathways. The goal of this subproject is therefore 1) to investigate the underlying causes and potential mechanisms of the variation in response to diet on lipid and glucose-related health outcomes using existing data from dietary intervention studies 2) perform a proof-of-concept precision nutrition meal intervention study.

You are going to:
  • organize and execute a randomized-controlled dietary intervention study;
  • analyses the lipid and glucose (including continuous glucose monitoring data) related outcome measures of the study;
  • perform omics data analyses of existing dietary intervention studies to understand underlying biological mechanisms;
  • have three two-month secondments at research institutes in Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) and Oslo (University of Oslo) and at a industrial partner in London (ZOE).

Would you like to join our team and try to unravel why people respond differently to meals and diets and how this affects their health?

Specifications

Wageningen University & Research

Requirements

Required qualifications of the RDC that are related to the MSCA Doctoral Network:
  • must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment;
  • can be of any nationality;
  • excellent communication skills in both spoken and written English;
  • should be enrolled in a doctoral programme during the project;
  • should comply with the mobility rules: in general, you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the Netherlands for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date.

You have:
  • a graduated MSc student in biomedical sciences, nutritional science, or similar;
  • a positive and connecting team player with good English writing and oral communication skills;
  • experience with the performance of intervention studies;
  • a critical scientific attitude with respect to developing study designs and interpreting collected data;
  • experience with ‘omics’ data analysis;
  • affinity with precision nutrition;
  • a positive attitude and ability to work in a team;
  • good English writing and oral communication skills.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Conditions of employment

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:
  • sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
  • working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
  • the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
  • there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
  • a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
  • excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will receive a fully funded PhD position and you will be offered a course program tailored to your needs and the research team.

The gross salary for the first year is € 2.541,- per month rising to € 3.247,- in the fourth year in according to the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale P). This is based on a full-time working week of 38 hours. We offer a temporary contract for 18 months which will be extended for the duration of the project if you perform well.

There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the “ Best University ” in the Netherlands for the 18th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Employer

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

You will work here
You position will be at the Division of Human Nutrition and Health at Wageningen University. During the project you will perform three secondments; one to an industry partner and two to research institute/university, each of two months duration. You will have secondments at research institutes in Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) and Oslo (University of Oslo) and at the industrial partner in London (ZOE). The intervention study will be carried at Wageningen University. More information about our ongoing research can be found via the following link. The position at Wageningen University and Research is planned for four years, deviating from the standard ETN guidelines of three years.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.

Specifications

  • PhD
  • Food
  • max. 38 hours per week
  • University graduate
  • P1358444-1

Employer

Wageningen University & Research

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Location

Droevendaalsesteeg, 6708 PB, Wageningen

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