Postdoctoral Researcher: synthetic ecology of the human gut microbiota

The lab of Jeroen Raes  (VIB, KU Leuven) is home to an enthusiastic, diverse and international group of researchers in the field of gut microbial ecology and its clinical applications. Beyond our expertise in metagenomic analysis using our in-house bioinformatics expertise the lab has in recent years invested anaerobic microbiology of colon bacteria in order to study their physiology and interactions. To support us in this effort we are currently looking for a postdoctoral researcher for our high-throughput anaerobic fermentation unit.

The candidate is expected to develop research lines in the area of synthetic gut ecology concerning species interactions, gut metabolism and cross-feeding, microbiota modulation strategies in health and clinical application. The candidate can build upon significant population and patient cohorts and microbiome data, as well as a large internal gut isolate culture collection.

• You have a PhD degree in a relevant field ((bio-)engineering, microbiology, pharmacology, chemistry, metabolomics, medicine).
• Relevant experience with microbial cultivation, isolation and/or (anaerobic) fermentation is required.
• You have practical experience relevant to the topic.
• You speak and write fluent English. Other lab-spoken languages include Dutch, French or Spanish (among many other!).
• You are capable of independently planning your daily work and execute with precision and speed while observing all safety regulations and protocols.
• You have a verifiable track record of productive team work.
• You are passionate about science, easy-going, self-motivated and naturally take ownership of your assignment and proactively propose solutions to any issues that arise.
• You work easily in a multicultural and multilingual environment.

VIB-KULeuven is an exciting, interdisciplinary research institute with excellent facilities and leading research groups in e.g. gastroenterology, oncology, immunology, microbiology & virology, clinical genetics/-omics, molecular biology and translational research.  The Raes lab has a long track record in microbiota research and prides itself on excellent publication records for a majority of lab members. 

We are located on the Gasthuisberg Hospital campus of the KU Leuven (Fac. of Medicine) and has on-site robotic sample processing, high-throughput computing resources as well as next-generation sequencing and anaerobic microbiology facilities. 

You can build upon significant lab resources as well as guidance from a multidisciplinary team of students and postdocs. Interested? Check out our laboratory and publications on www.raeslab.org  and/or https://scholar.google.com/cit...

Interested candidates should apply online. Additional requirements:

• please upload a letter stating your reasons for the interest in the current position.
• please add the contact details of two references of people you collaborated with professionally for at least 8 months.

Our institute greatly values diverse standpoints and promotes an inclusive environment in which everyone is respected.