18 Mar 2024
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
Universite de Montpellier- Department
Human Resources- Research Field
Engineering » Biomaterial engineering- Researcher Profile
First Stage Researcher (R1)- Country
France- Application Deadline
31 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)- Type of Contract
Temporary- Job Status
Full-time- Hours Per Week
38- Offer Starting Date
15 Apr 2024- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
HE- Reference Number
2024-R0207- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
No
Offer Description
main mission:
The Mediterranean region is one of the most impacted area by food loss and waste, plastic pollution and climate change. To avoid these environmental issues, it is therefore essential to develop sustainable packaging. For that, one possibility is to introduce natural molecules with antimicrobial activity or microbiomes into the packaging, allowing to decrease bacterial contamination and consequently food loss and waste. This development of sustainable packaging can be reinforced by the use of freshness indicators or, more generally, intelligent packaging in order to control the safety of the food. The Intactbiopack project aims to develop and promote in the Mediterranean region the use of the following packaging solutions: (1) low-cost, biodegradable and compostable antimicrobial packaging reducing food losses and waste in the food chain and at consumer stage (2) packaging containing living microorganisms and probiotics (microbiomes) to help consumers to develop fermented products from leftovers (3) intelligent packaging, based on RFID or colorimetric solutions to give information about the freshness of an uneaten product to consummers and/or to control the fermentation of leftovers (4) to ensure the environmental and socio-economic benefits of all these packaging solutions on targeted case studies. In this context, the post-doctoral researcher will work on the development of active packaging thanks to the addition of natural antimicrobial compounds and/or microbiomes.
activities: The activities will be divided in two parts:
(1) Project management (10 to 20% of the time): organization of the kick-off meeting that will take place in June, as well as all the following meetings (approximately one per month with the different partners through visio and one per year in face-to-face).
(2) The scientific project (80 to 90% of the time): the aim is to participate in the development of active packaging. Firstly, it will be necessary to propose, test and characterize different encapsulation strategies for active molecules and microbiomes (nano-emulsions, beta-cyclodextrin etc). Secondly, the most functional strategies will then be integrated into PHBV material by thermopressing or coating. Finally, the produced materials will be characterized in terms of mechanical, transfers and antimicrobial properties.
Requirements
- Research Field
- Engineering » Biomaterial engineering
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- Knowledge about food packaging, and ideally active packaging, food contamination and microbiology
- Competences on packaging production (thermopressing and coating) and microbial experiments
- Good communication is expected to ensure a good coordination of the project.
- Good writing of scientific publications.
- PhD required in: food storage and packaging
- Research Field
- Engineering » Biomaterial engineering
Additional Information
Selection process
Send your CV and cover letter by email to : [email protected] and [email protected]
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- UMR Ingénierie des Agropolymères et Technologies Emergentes (IATE)
- Country
- France
- City
- Montpellier
- Postal Code
- 34090
- Geofield
Where to apply
[email protected]
Contact
- City
Montpellier- Website
http://www.umontpellier.fr/- Street
163 rue Auguste Broussonnet- Postal Code
34000
[email protected]
[email protected]
STATUS: EXPIRED