PhD student in Nutritional and Microbial Modulation

PhD student Nutritional and Microbial Modulation Wageningen University and
Research Centre Division of Human Nutrition, in a TI Food and Nutrition
project. Wageningen, 6700 HB (Gelderland), 38 hours per week

Job description
------------------------------
Title subproject
Effect of nutritional stressors on epithelial injury-signalling secretome in
small intestine, and identification of biomarkers of epithelial integrity.

Project description
Within the gut, impaired epithelial integrity is regarded as an important
risk factor in the initiation and complex (patho)physiology of common
nutrition-related intestinal disorders. This project focuses on the
elucidation of relevant biomarkers for gut health as well as a model
platform to efficiently discover, select and validate potential gut
health-promoting foods, food ingredients, and probiotics in order to
facilitate evidence-based nutrition-relevant health claims for consumers.

Increased cell turnover is a hallmark of the stressed and under-performing
small intestinal epithelium, indicating that the balanced proliferation and
cell death is a sensitive determinant of the integrity and function of the
epithelium. The feed-back mechanism and its players at the molecular level
that are responsible to maintain this balance are the prime target of this
subproject.

The PhD student will perform experiments in animals and humans in order to
find and characterise biomolecules that are secreted by the small intestinal
epithelium, when this epithelium is damaged by nutrition-related compounds.
The mechanism(s) by which these secreted molecules affect the cell turnover
of the epithelium will be determined. Relevant biomolecules will be
validated as biomarkers for small intestinal epithelial integrity and gut
health and used to develop cell line models that enable screening of food
compounds with a beneficial effect on small intestinal epithelial integrity.

Requirements
------------------------------
Required education/skills:University Graduate
Main tasks and responsibilities
The PhD student is responsible for:
.contributing to the full project plan
.staying abreast of developments in his scientific discipline by keeping up
with the scientific literature in his field and visiting scientific meetings
.generating ideas within the scope of the defined subject
.supervising of research assistants and students, where appropriate
.delivering results in line with the project plan milestones and
deliverables
.keeping up with the latest scientific developments and integrating these in
the project
.converting data and results of the sub-project into overview reports
.keeping traceable records of all results and analyses according to the lab
journal procedure
.writing high-quality clearly written papers about the results obtained and
getting these published in high-impact scientific journals
.completing a thesis after 4 years.
Job type: Research / Advising
Workfield(s):
- Teaching & Research(Scientific discipline: Natural Sciences)

Organization
------------------------------
Wageningen University and Research Centre
Division of Human Nutrition, in a TI Food and Nutrition project.

Conditions of employment
------------------------------
Estimated maximum salary per month: eur 1500 - 2000
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
Duration of the contract: For a period of 4 years
Maximum hours per week: 38

Additional Information
------------------------------
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:

Dr. R. van der Meer, Senior Scientist
Telephone number: 31 317 485 186
E-mail address: roelof.vandermeer@wur.nl

Or Dr. J. Dekker, Project Leader
Telephone number: 31 30 694 4483
E-mail address: jan.dekker@tno.nl
Or additional information can be obtained through one of the following
links:

- About the organization (http://www.wur.nl)
- TI Food and Nutrition (http://www.tifn.nl)

Application
------------------------------
You can apply for this job before 01-11-2007 (dd-mm-yyyy) by sending your
application to:

TI Food and Nutrition
HR Department

P.O.Box 557
6700 AN Wageningen
Netherlands
E-mail: personnel@tifn.nl

When applying for this job always mention the vacancynumber AT AIO A2 - A
-1001.