The scenery

The life sciences research at the Greenport Venlo campus focuses on food, nutrition and health. The first life sciences research program to start is the Centre for Health Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI).
HEFI investigates the effects of health food, builds up knowledge about the health effects of food and the development of new nutritional products. HEFI is publicly oriented and focuses at the three relevant dimensions to further the use healthy nutritional products; 1. Food, 2. People, and 3. Sustainability. Part of this research is focussed on using in vitro models of the gastrointestinal tract to study the fate of ingested food

The project

The project is entitled “Effect of probiotic, prebiotic and/or SCFA supplementation on gut microbiota components, weight and glycemic profile of prediabetes subjects: A randomized clinical trial”.  In summary it entails the following:

 Type 2 diabetes (2DM) is a prevalent condition in the whole world and the lifestyle interventions are used in preventing the progression of prediabetes to diabetes. The role of bacteria that colonize the human intestine as etiopathogenic agents of this non-communicable disease represents a potential target for intervention. Objective: Study the effect of probiotic, prebiotic and SCFA supplementation applied to a diet, on gut bacterial and fungal composition, anthropometric measurements, body composition, plasma hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and inflammatory markers in subjects with prediabetes and overweight. Primary outcomes: Microbiota profile, change in weight/anthropometric measurements and insulin sensitivity after 12 weeks of treatment. Methods: Prediabetes and healthy adult volunteers will be recruited within the vicinity of the study centre at Maastricht University for the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-intervention trial with four groups: 1) Probiotic group (PG): a combination of a blend of probiotics in a capsule; 2) Prebiotic Group (PreG): standard powdered prebiotic fiber in a capsule; SCFA Group (SCG): encapsulated acetate, propionate, and butyrate; and 4) Placebo group: partly hydrolyzed microcrystalline cellulose-filled capsules. The supplementation period will start the day after the last baseline measurement in week 0 and will be continued for a period of week 12. Logistics: On day -1  there will be a) anthropometric evaluation; b) oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) with 75g; c) serum collection; and d) baseline laboratory tests: plasma HbA1C and glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers. After confirming whether or not prediabetes is present, the individual will be randomized to one of the intervention groups. On day 0, the subjects will self-collect and send their feces sample to the lab for the microbiota evaluation (sequencing of the V3-V416S rRNA for bacteria, internal spacer (ITS) for fungi). All subjects will provide written informed consent before participation in this study, which will be reviewed and will be approved by the local Medical Ethical Committee of Maastricht University Medical Centre. All procedures will be performed according to the declaration of Helsinki.

To complete our team, we are looking for a PhD candidate having preferably experience with microbiological skills at laboratory scale in a pioneering setting or with a strong basis in nutritional expertise and research.

The PhD candidate will furthermore support Bachelor and Master students in their lab work, and support educational tasks in the framework of the Campus Venlo educational programs. Didactic or educational experience is a plus.

Requirements

The ideal candidate should distinguish him/herself with:

-        Experience in a scientific laboratory setting, with a Master in (Medical) Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences or Nutrition;

-        Strong affinity for nutritional research in health and disease, with interest in the link between nutrition and gut microbiota;

-        Strong in establishing collaborations and building networks between the partners; in other words a flexible team-player;

-        A pioneering, creative and constructive mindset;

-        A “can do” and “hands-on” mentality for further development of the lab, eager to work;

-        Affinity with innovation and entrepreneurship: development of new and health food products;

-        Affinity with education;

-        Eager to work in a starting/growing and international team;

-        If non-Dutch mother language, willingness to learn Dutch.

Your salary will be based on the VNU salary for PhD candidate starting at € 2325,-- and increasing to € 2972,-- gross per month over the course of the 4-years PhD project, according to salary-scale P0-P3. On top of this, there is an 8% holiday and an 8.3% year-end allowance.

The contract is initially for a period of 1 year, after which the candidate will be evaluated and a decision will be made to continue or discontinue the PhD trajectory.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl

Contract

Temporarily, one year, with a three year extension upon proper functioning. Anticipated starting date: Jul 01, 2019 (or sooner where possible).

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 16,300 students and 4,300 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

The research facilities of Maastricht University - campus Venlo are located in Villa Flora, a former greenhouse at the outskirts of Venlo. The building has been transformed into a site where numerous parties join together in research on healthy food. The Maastricht University facilities are, with approx. 600 m2, the largest in Villa Flora, and have been in use only since Jan 2018. The brand new facilities are state-of-the-art, and are an excellent setting for the anticipated project. The group of Prof. Venema, where the research will be carried out, has a close collaboration with the Dept. of Human Biology in Maastricht where similar research on the effects of pro- & prebiotics, and SCFA (with a focus on acetate) is being carried out. A strong link with this department is foreseen. Prof. Venema’s lab is equipped with the necessary molecular DNA equipment to carry out the research, such as a Q-PCR machine and an Illumina MiSeq sequencer. Also, the necessary bioinformatics tools are in place to study the effect of the interventions on the gut microbiota composition an activity.