We are looking for a PhD candidate for our project 'Sustainable Plant Protection Transition: A Global Health Approach' (SPRINT). You will contribute to a work package on exposure assessment and will contribute to the development of pesticide exposure estimates in humans and farm animals by developing and applying physiology-based biokinetic (PBK) models. Will you join our team?

The use of pesticides represents a risk to human and environmental health, with recent research findings suggesting an association of exposure with increased risk for humans and the environment The newly launched project 'Sustainable Plant Protection Transition: A Global Health Approach' (SPRINT), consists of a consortium of 30 research institutes from 11 European countries alongside colleagues in Argentina and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

SPRINT will develop an integrated risk assessment methodology to evaluate the impact of pesticides on human health and the adverse effects on plants, animals and ecosystems.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Setting up and performing studies on the kinetics of absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) of pesticides in humans.
• Development of new or existing physiology-based biokinetic (PBK) models for pesticides and their metabolites in humans and animals (cow, goat, sheep and cat).
• Perform sensitivity and variability analyses and study how the developed PBK models can support the estimation of pesticide exposures on a population level.
• Perform reverse dosimetry calculations using aforementioned PBK models to study routes and sources of exposure to pesticides.
• Prepare manuscripts for scientific peer-review journals to report on the results of the research performed. These published papers will then become part of a PhD thesis.
• Actively participate in meetings of the work package exposure assessment and other project meetings and relevant scientific conferences.

You have completed MSc in chemistry, biomedical sciences, environmental sciences or comparable 'life or natural science' field with interest in kinetic modelling in the context of pharmacology and toxicology studies and risk assessment. Furthermore:

• Experience with computer modelling (e.g. in R or comparable language/software).
• Affinity with gathering and management of data related to biokinetic processes (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion).
• Excellent communication skills in Dutch and English.
• Verifiable skills in academic writing.

Fixed-term contract: until 31 August 2025.

Working at Radboud university medical center means that you are ahead of the curve and working together on the healthcare of the future. And there is more. Our secondary terms of employment are impressive. These are fully tailored to you thanks to our Employment Conditions Selection Model. At Radboud university medical center, you will be given trust, and you will take the responsibility to handle everything together. We provide annual courses, both professional and personal.

• In addition to your monthly salary and an annual vacation allowance of 8%, you will receive an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• If you work irregular hours, you will receive an allowance.
• As a full-time employee (36 hours per week), you are entitled to approximately 168 vacation hours (over 23 days) per year.
• Radboud university medical center pays 70% of the pension premium. You pay the rest of the premium with your gross salary.
• You get a discount on health insurance as well: you can take advantage of two group health insurance plans. UMC Zorgverzekering and CZ collectief.

In addition to our terms of employment, we also offer employees various other attractive facilities, such as childcare and sports facilities. Want to learn more? Take a look at the Cao UMC.

Radboudumc

The position is available within the Research Laboratory Molecular Epidemiology, section Epidemiology at the Department for Health Evidence.The Department has three main tasks: research, education, and consultation. The focus of all three is on research methodology and data analysis, in the context of the Radboudumc's research themes. The Department's keywords for its research tasks are health technology assessment, evidence-based surgery, international health, multiple testing, genomic data analyses, urological cancer, cancer screening & follow-up, reproductive epidemiology, biomonitoring, and risk assessment.

The PhD will receive training in the Radboud Institute for Health Sciences (RIHS). The project work of the PhD is performed in a collaborative effort with the Department of Pharmacology andToxicology from the Radboudumc and the Department of Environmental Science from the Radboud University. The PhD candidate will be supervised by a team of researchers from both institutes.

Research Institutes
At the moment there are more than 1,300 PhD candidates at our medical hospital. This number includes PhD candidates on our pay roll as well as external candidates (those employed somewhere else but researching on our premises).

• Radboud Institute for Health Sciences: ± 700
• Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences: ± 400
• Donders Center for Medical Neurosciences: ± 200

Read what it is like to do a PhD at the Radboud University Medical Center.

Radboudumc
Radboud university medical center is a university medical center for patient care, scientific research, and education in Nijmegen. Radboud university medical center strives to be at the forefront of shaping the healthcare of the future. We do this in a person-centered and innovative way, and in close collaboration with our network. We want to have a significant impact on healthcare. We want to improve with each passing day, continuously working towards better healthcare, research, and education. And gaining a better understanding of how diseases arise and how we can prevent, treat, and cure them, day in and day out. This way, every patient always receives the best healthcare, now and in the future. Because that is why we do what we do.

Read more about our strategy and what working at Radboud university medical center means. Our colleagues would be happy to tell you about it. #weareradboudumc