⛔ This position is no longer available.

University: French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)

Country: France

Deadline: June 13, 2025

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE) invites applications for a postdoctoral position in synthetic biology and microbiology, as part of the TARGET Project at the UMR INRAE BFP unit in Villenave d’Ornon, France. This interdisciplinary research initiative aims to advance the cultivation of noncultivable bacteria, focusing on the plant-pathogenic Flavescence Dorée phytoplasma, and integrates approaches from microbiology, culturomics, genetic engineering, systems biology, and computational modeling.

Requirements

• PhD in microbiology, metabolomics, systems biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, or a related discipline
• Experience with transcriptomics and/or LC-MS-based metabolomics
• Knowledge of metabolic modeling or biochemical pathway analysis is advantageous
• Background in microbiology, molecular biology, or bioinformatics
• Desirable skills include RT-qPCR, metabolic imaging, or protein expression/purification
• Strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, with a collaborative approach
  
  

Role And Responsibilities

• Develop and validate methods to distinguish phytoplasma metabolic responses from those of host organisms using transcriptomics and metabolomics
• Conduct targeted and untargeted metabolomics (LC-MS) to identify metabolites in infected and healthy host tissues
• Utilize metabolic imaging techniques (e.g., MALDI, DESI-MS) to map metabolite distributions
• Integrate multi-omics data to infer host-pathogen metabolic interactions
• Support metabolic modeling and culture medium formulation
• Perform biochemical analyses such as RT-qPCR, enzyme characterization, and protein expression
• Collaborate with bioinformaticians and contribute to scientific publications and presentations
  
  

Benefits

• Gross monthly salary between €3,135 and €4,544, depending on experience and profile
• Up to 30 days of annual leave plus 15 days of reduced working time (full-time)
• Parenting support, skills development opportunities, social support, and leisure benefits
• Access to sports, cultural activities, and collective catering
  
  

Application Procedure

Interested candidates should submit a detailed CV, cover letter outlining research interests and motivation, and contact details for two references to Dr. Pierre Pétriacq ([email protected]) and Dr. Bessem Chouaia ([email protected]). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. For further inquiries, please contact the supervisors at the provided email addresses.

Start Date: October 1, 2025

Contract Duration: 23 months (with possible renewal for an additional 24 months)

Get the latest openings in your field and preferred country—straight to your email inbox. Sign up now for 14 days free: phdfinder.com/register

Also See

• PhD and Postdoctoral Positions in Plant-Bacteria Circadian Clock Interactions
• Fully Funded PhD Positions in Climate Disruptions and Food Systems Resilience
• PhD Position in Chemistry of Human-Plant Interactions
• PhD Opportunity in Diagnosis and Health Monitoring of Power Semiconductors for Railway…
• PhD and Postdoctoral Opportunities in Experimental & Computational Mechanics of…