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, underperformance 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
Technical skills required:
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