Researcher Nutritional Biochemistry

Are you a researcher (project leader) specialized in biochemical analytics in food, food ingredients, ferments and biological samples?

Are you passionate about research to study the effect of digestion, bioavailability, and effect of nutrition on human health? We have a vacancy for a Researcher Nutritional Biochemistry. Will you join us?

What will you do?
As a nutritional biochemistry researcher & project leader, you will contribute to the innovative applied research carried out by the Food and Health Group of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR). Examples of research projects include studying the digestibility and bioavailability of new protein sources, examining how food compounds are absorbed in the gut and their effect on human health (e.g. through the creation of specific metabolites) and untargeted metabolomics analysis to identify potential compounds with potential health risks or benefits. You will collaborate with affiliated lines of research on topics such as gut health, immunology and human-related research. In this role, you are a researcher who initiates research, but also finds the right experts to collaborate with and discuss research approaches and results in depth.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• Participation in projects and you can act as a project leader by overseeing multidisciplinary research teams, monitoring progress and communicating with clients.
• Contribution to the acquisition of new projects by drafting project proposals and staying up to date on relevant developments in the field.
• Usage of your practical research experience on the biochemical processes involved in the digestion and fermentation of human food. In this way you are able to analyze and interpret your research data, both independently and in collaboration with statisticians and data experts.
• Establishing links with other WUR departments or external parties for scientific collaboration and the efficient use of equipment.
• Sharing of research results in reports, scientific publications and conferences.
• Keeping abreast of scientific and technological developments in your professional field and, together with colleagues and partners, translate these into solutions that meet market needs.

Your team
You will be part of the Food, Gut & Health Models expertise team that conducts preclinical research with the aim of developing healthy, safe food ingredients and products; understanding biological mechanisms to predict the effects on human health; and contributing to documentation on safe, novel foods and nutrition and health claims. An important element of this work is the characterization of food, ingredient or supplement composition (including macronutrients, proteins, fatty acids and polysaccharides, micronutrients and other specific bioactive compounds), and analysis of complex biological samples, generated in vitro as well as in human intervention trials.

You will work here
The ecosystems of WUR, Wageningen Campus and beyond offer numerous opportunities for collaboration on innovative developments and solutions. That is why we are looking for a team player with a focus on application and with a proactive attitude and a talent for bringing partners together. Examples of clients include industrial organizations, such as ingredient suppliers and food companies, government agencies and combinations thereof in public-private partnerships.

You are an enthusiastic and independent researcher/ project leader with excellent communication skills and can function well in a dynamic project organization. You enjoy working with others to achieve successes. You have strong problem-solving skills and are client and result-oriented.

You also possess:

• work experience with a background in (food/fermentation) biochemistry, nutrition or health and you have an affinity for the agri-food sector. A PhD is considered an advantage, as is experience in targeted or untargeted metabolomics and related data interpretation.
• experience as a project leader, preferably at the IPMA-C level.
• You have strong verbal and written language skills in both Dutch and English.

You preferably have

• experience with analytical technologies to measure nutrients and by-products of digestion and fermentation (e.g. soluble and insoluble fibers, lipids, carbohydrates, etc. with HPLC, UPLC, LC-MS/MS, among others).
• experience in processing and handling large data set and translate the data in understandable figures, pathways and concrete interpretations
• experience with applied research in a contract organization or the business sector.

In our international working environment there is an increasing amount of communication in English. For this position it is about language level C1 .

WUR welcomes applications from international candidates. However, for applicants for this specific position from outside the EU/EFTA zone, immigration restrictions may apply based on Dutch and EU immigration laws. Such candidates may be eligible for an “orientation year” in the Netherlands or a visa as a “knowledge migrant”.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• 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 year-end bonus of 8,3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €3399,- and €5478,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 10). Additionally, For this role a contract for 32 hours a week can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance. Of course, we are happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment.

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, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 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.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below 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.