Cancer epigenetics according to urban and architectural parameters. Recruiting MSCA Postdoctoral fellow candidate

Hosting Description

The Universidad de Navarra (UNAV) is a non-profit private university founded in 1952 based in Pamplona, Spain. It confers 56 official degrees and administers more than 90 postgraduate programs (including 20 doctoral programs and 42 master’s programs) through 10 schools, two superior colleges, the IESE Business School and its 5 comprehensive Research Centres: CCUN (Cancer Centre Clínica Universidad de Navarra), BIOMA (Biodiversity and Environment Institute) and DATAI (Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence), ICS (INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE AND SOCIETY and CIN (Centre for Nutrition Research).

UNAV has more than 14.000 students in 5 campuses: Pamplona, San Sebastian, Madrid, Barcelona and New York with a wide network of international universities and research centres.

UNAV has a sound track record in participating in European Research Programs. The university has participated in 126 European projects from FP4 to Horizon Europe, including LIFE, ERASMUS+ and INTERREG Programs; of which 22 projects were coordinated by the university. The University also counts with a thorough experience in MSCA and ERC grants with over 26 signed grants.

UNAV been awarded with the HR Excellence in Research quality seal (HRS4R) that guarantees the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.

The work team represented by the César Martín-Gómez has been working from 2001 on projects that involve the integration of building services and energy systems in complex architectonical cases. Building services here involve fire safety, water management, electricity, data networks, HVAC and renewable energies.

Since 2009, the team has participated in 18 research projects: 6 private, 6 regional, 3 national and 3 European.

The activity of the team has allowed the publication of more than 43 articles in indexed journals and 79 collaborations in Congresses.

Offer description

The research questions of the project are as follows: What is the relationship between the epigenetics of cancer and the variables of air quality in buildings and cities? What is the methodology to be followed to analyze this relationship? That is, to discern which human pathologies in the field of cancer epigenetics may be due to different types of architectural and urban realities.

It is a complex project, with a clear and necessary multidisciplinary vocation, on the frontiers of knowledge of medicine. Thus, the objective of this first phase is the development and validation of a methodology that allows determining whether the levels of pollutants that citizens are exposed to daily in their work, study and home environment, can represent a danger to health in the long and short term.

This methodology will include a systematized compilation of data related to the field of health, architecture and urban planning through clinical samples, air quality measurements and interviews about lifestyle in the urban environment. The interpretation of all the data will be managed through the use of Geographical Information Systems computer tools, such as QGIS or ArcGIS.

It is a clear, robust and replicable methodology to:

• Evaluate occupational exposure to contaminants in indoor spaces.
• Take personal samples to confirm direct exposure.
• Analyze the spatial, architectural and urban distribution of pollutants.
• Identify the most affected areas and their possible source of emission.
• Evaluate the influence of meteorology on concentration levels.
• Establish the degree of occupational exposure.
• Compare the results obtained with other studies carried out in Spain and with current legislation.

Finally, by georeferencing all these data, the developed methodology will be used to detect which urban factors might affect a disease. This data analysis can shed light on the link between the disease and its architectural and urban environment, in order to detect which external factors affect the development of a disease.