- work environment:

The aim of the ACTS project is to infer the role of reservoir animals in the transmission of a tropical disease: urogenital bilharziasis. Urogenital bilharziasis is the second most common parasitic disease after malaria. Until 2023, the entire scientific community believed that this disease was specifically human. This dogma was shattered when hybrids between human parasites (etiological agent: Schistosoma haematobium) and animal parasites (etiological agent: Schistosoma bovis) were found in cattle and rodents in southern Benin. Understanding the role of reservoir animals in a disease that affects 200 million people is therefore vital. The ACTS project is an interdisciplinary project based on population genomics, animal experimentation and modelling tools. The fieldwork will be carried out in southern Benin, at the same sites where the parasites have been found in animals. Parasites from humans, rodents and cattle will be sampled, the DNA extracted and then amplified using the RADseq technique. Experimental infections will be carried out on site. We will expose rodents and cattle to strains of parasites from humans, rodents or cattle. This approach will provide a better understanding of any host specificity. Finally, a mathematical model will be constructed to understand the role of different hosts in disease transmission.

- main mission:

The researcher recruited will be responsible for coordinating field activities in Benin and carrying out molecular biology experiments in France. The first part of the job, lasting 6 to 8 months, will involve setting up and monitoring the field activities. The person recruited will have to write and submit regulatory applications (ethics committee, Nagoya protocol, etc.) to local institutions. Once the authorisations have been obtained, with the help of our local partners (CREMIT), he or she will take samples of parasites from the various hosts (humans, rodents and cattle). In collaboration with our local partners (URIB and the national livestock directorate), the researcher recruited will have to set up the mollusc and rodent farms needed for the experimental part of the project. Finally, assisted by staff from the IHPE laboratory, he will carry out the experimental infections and collect the parasites 3 months after the animals have been exposed to the pathogens. After this initial field phase, the researcher recruited will return to France and take part in the molecular analyses with the partner CBGP. Finally, with the help of a bioinformatics engineer, he will analyse the massive sequencing data.

- activities:

Drafting of regulatory documents - Sampling of parasites from different hosts - Coordination of field actions - Setting up animal breeding- Infection of animal hosts - Parasitological monitoring - DNA extraction - RADseq amplification - Data analysis - Drafting of scientific reports.