ECAWBM: Post Doc Position in Horse Behaviour and Welfare

Post Doctoral position, 18 months
September 2016 - February 2018
Deadline : July 15th, 2016

The Institute:
The French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) is Europe’s top research institute and the world’s number two centre in the field of agricultural sciences. Its mission is to discover and advance knowledge for the benefit of society, public health and economic prosperity.The range of topics, approaches and technologies available at INRA makes it possible to address a broad range of fundamental issues in life sciences and agriculture. For further information:
http://institut.inra.fr/en

Mission of the researcher:
A post-doctoral researcher position is available in the Behavior, Adaptation and Neurobiology team, which is located onto the INRA center of Tours, although the research project will be based at he French National Riding School and the Cadre noir of Saumur (Saumur, France; http://www.ifce.fr/en/cadrenoir/).
The post-doctoral position will focus on the assessment of sport horse welfare through an integrated analysis of behavioral parameters, intestinal microbiota, blood transcriptome, and health parameters. Fatigue, under performance and gastrointestinal distress are common among horses during training and competition. We therefore propose a system biology perspective to understand the complex hostmicrobioma interactions and their association with stress and pathophysiological phenotypes so that alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota in disease states can be reversed.
The post-doctoral position involves planning, coordinating and leading the research project on a semi-independent basis, and providing statistical analysis for behavior, metagenomics and transcriptomics data. The researcher will support the veterinarian members of the Cadre noir for data collection, and will work towards contributing new ideas and providing a fresh perspective to expand our current research.
We seek candidates with a strong background in the domain of behavior sciences, including experience in the analysis of large data sets and video registration and with an interest in metagenomics. Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills is required. Proven experience of working in group and in close contact with veterinarians, and farmers is compulsory.
Experience in handling, analysis and meta-analysis of next generation sequencing data and an overview of technologies for high-throughput DNA, RNA analyses is a plus. Lastly, experience and training in the care and handling of horses would be an advantage.

Applicants must hold a PhD degree in Biology, Veterinary Medicine or related fields.
 

Technical skills required:
Implementing behavior tests
Good statistical programming and script programming skills in R and shell scripting. Skills in perl/python would be welcome but are not compulsory.
Publishing the results in international scientific journals
Preparing scientific reports and statements for horse associations

Languages:
Fluent level of French and strong knowledge in English (both writing and speaking)

The offer:
The position is intended as full-time for18 months.
Estimated gross monthly salary: 2,658 €
Starting date: September 2016.
The successful candidate will be directly mentored by both Léa Lansade and Núria Mach.

Application procedure:
All applications must include: a motivation letter addressed to Dr. Léa Lansade and Dr. Núria Mach; a full CV including contact details and two contacts for further references.
 

Contacts:
Dr. Léa Lansade
Équipe Comportement, Neurobiologie et Adaptation
INRA Tours
Mail : lea.lansade@tours.inra.fr

Dr. Núria Mach
Équipe Biologie Intégrative et Génétique Equine
INRA Jouy en Josas
Mail : nuria.mach@jouy.inra.fr
 

Deadline: Please submit your application by July 15th, 2016