12 PhD Fully Funded Positions in Fermented Foods and Microbial Interactions 

We are hiring! Open 12 PhD Fully Funded Positions in Fermented Foods and Microbial Interactions under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Project called FAIROmics: FAIRification of multiOmics data to link databases and create knowledge graphs for fermented foods.

The positions will be based in the following beneficiaries and associated partners members: INRAE (UMR SayFood and UR MAiAGE), Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, University of Reading, NIZO Food & Research BV, Wageningen University & Research, University Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III, University of Strasbourg, University of Szeged, Free University of Amsterdam, Free University of Brussels, University of Vigo, University of Valencia, AgroParisTech, The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Catholic University of Leuven.

We are looking for 15 Doctoral Candidates to join our project at multiple sites in the EU with a master’s degree in a relevant discipline (artificial intelligence, life sciences, humanities and social sciences) interested in developing knowledge graphs for data-driven decision-making to rationally design microbial communities in the context of open science and its regulations. Please note that the PhD positions will lead to the award of a double diploma after the completion of a stay in each of the organisations delivering the diplomas.

Specific requirements for all DCs

1. Educational background and previous research experience relevant to the chosen position.
2.  Networking and communication skills in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment.
3. Willingness to travel abroad for the purpose of research, training and dissemination.
4. English: B2, good oral and written communication skills in English are compulsory.

Recruitment Process

1. Candidates apply for a position using the online application form.
2. The FAIROmics Project Manager provides a first screen of the written applications to check the candidate’s eligibility and forwards the eligible applications to the DC supervisors.
3. The DC supervisors will select the best candidates based on CV, academic records, recommendation and motivation letters and adequate skill sets. To better assess the best candidate, the shortlisted candidates might be asked to write an abstract of provided scientific documents relevant to the research subject.
4. The selected applicants will be interviewed online by the Selection Committee (two main supervisors and two representatives of a beneficiary or associated partner, with at least one person external to the DC’s project).
5. The best candidates will be chosen by the main supervisors. The European Project Manager will communicate the successful candidates to the Consortium and Partners.

The duration of the PhD is 36 months (some 48 months). Important eligibility: you must NOT have resided or carried out your main activity (e.g. studies) in the country of application for more than 12 months in the past 36 months before recruitment. Contact:  If you have any questions, please contact the FAIROmics coordination team at this address: fairomics@inrae.fr

To submit, send your candidacy to the FAIROmics website: https://www.dn-fairomics.eu/open-phd-positions  Submission deadline: May 15th, 2024

Available positions

DC1 PhD position Know more Deciphering the role of bacterial-fungal interactions in plant-based fermented food.

DC2 PhD position Know more New sources and new concepts to develop safe innovative fermented foods based on genome mining of starter strains.

DC 3 PhD position Know more Multi-omics data production and comprehensive compositional understanding during olive fermentation.

DC 4 PhD position Know more Knowledge-driven design of plant-fermenting microbial cultures.

DC 5 PhD position Know more From sequence to strain-specific phenotypes.

DC 6 PhD position Know more Methods and tools to model microbial interactions – Improving predictive power by addressing identifiability challenges in Microbial Community Models.

DC 7 PhD position Know more Identification and control of key regulatory mechanisms for differential responses and metabolic shifts in microorganism populations.

DC 9 PhD position Know more Design of Information Extraction Tools to characterise molecules produced or degraded by microbes and applications to plant-fermented food ecosystems.

DC 10 PhD position Know more Automatic information extraction from scientific publications and other sources to build knowledge graph.

DC 11 PhD position Know more Characterisation of Knowledge Graph through network tools: application to the Omnicrobe knowledge graph.

DC 12 PhD position Know more Optimal Transportation to improve databases integration.

DC 13 PhD position Know more Explainable machine learning techniques to support the design of plant-based fermented food products – Development of a serious game.

DC 14 PhD position Know more Legal Aspects of Open Science: FAIROmics as a Case Study.

DCR 15 PhD position Know more Omics-driven investigation of unique features of olive fermentation isolates beneficial for plant fermentation with probiotic properties.