MSCA-PF: Joint application at the University of Granada. Department of Analytic Chemistry

Professor Alberto Zafra Gómez from the Department of Analytic Chemistry at the University of Granada, welcomes postdoctoral candidates interested in applying for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) in 2021 at this University. Please note that applicants must comply with the Mobility Rule (more information about the 2020 call: http://sl.ugr.es/0aNV, the 2021 call is not yet open).

Brief description of the institution:

The University of Granada (UGR), founded in 1531, is one of the largest and most important universities in Spain. With over 60.000 undergraduate and postgraduate students and 6.000 staff. UGR offers a total of 89 degrees, 110 master’s degrees and 28 doctoral programmes through its 123 departments and 27 centers. Consequently, the UGR offers one of the most extensive and diverse ranges of higher education programmes in Spain.

The UGR has awarded with the "Human Resources Excellence in Research (HRS4R)", which reflects the UGR’s commitment to continuously improve its human resource policies in line with the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. UGR is also a leading institution in research, located in the top of Spanish universities by a variety of ranking criteria, such as national R&D projects, fellowships awarded, publications, or international funding. UGR is one of the few Spanish Universities listed in the Shanghai Top 500 ranking - Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) (http://sl.ugr.es/0bsW). The UGR is amongst the 201-300 first universities of the world, between 2nd-5th position of Spanish universities and number 1 in the Andalusian Region in the Shanghai Top 500 ranking. Specialties at UGR that stand out are Library & Information Science (position 32) and Food Science & Technology (position 36). Moreover, the UGR is also situated amongst the first 100 universities in Mining & Mineral Engineering between (76th-100th position), in Mathematics (between 76th-100th position) and in Hospitality & Tourism Management (between 76th-100th position). The edition of the ARWU places the UGR in 201-300th position in the world and as the 4th highest ranked University in Spain, reaffirming its position as an institution at the forefront of national and international research.

Additionally, the UGR has 8 researchers at the top of the Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) list in Computer Sciences & Engineering (position 101-150). It is also well recognized for its web presence (http://sl.ugr.es/0a6i), being positioned at 43th place in the top 200 Universities in Europe.

Internationally, we bet decidedly by our participation in the calls of the Framework Programme of the European Union. For the duration of the last two Framework Programmes, the UGR has obtained a total of 67 projects, with total funding of 18.029 million euros, and for H2020, 118 projects with total funding around 29.115 million euros.

Brief description of the Centre/Research Group:

Currently, the research lines in which our research group is involved are varied. The main line of work focuses on the study of exposure to chemical substances with activity as endocrine disruptors and the incidence of diseases such as obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome. This research line is related to human exposure to these substances through diet and the environment. The objective of this research is to detect the presence of chemical endocrine disruptors (EDCs) in different matrices of environmental interest (soils, wastewater, sewage sludge, compost from WWTPs and aquatic sediments) and foods. The aim is to study their behavior and evolution in each of these environmental compartments and their possible transfer to the food chain; and the study of the presence of EDCs in living organisms, and their possible bioaccumulation in tissues and human biological fluids (placenta, urine, hair, saliva, serum, etc. The members of the group are specialists in the use of analytical techniques, such as liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, in the development of numerous sample treatment techniques (LLE, LLME, SPME, SPE, USE, PLE, SBSE, SM-SLLME, dSPE, QuEChERs) and in the validation of the analytical methods optimized. The research group has also specialists in different fields of science such as nutrition, zoology, biochemistry, microbiology and toxicology, in order to develop multidisciplinary projects.Currently, the research lines in which our research group is involved are varied. The main line of work focuses on the study of exposure to chemical substances with activity as endocrine disruptors and the incidence of diseases such as obesity, diabetes or metabolic syndrome. This research line is related to human exposure to these substances through diet and the environment. The objective of this research is to detect the presence of chemical endocrine disruptors (EDCs) in different matrices of environmental interest (soils, wastewater, sewage sludge, compost from WWTPs and aquatic sediments) and foods. The aim is to study their behavior and evolution in each of these environmental compartments and their possible transfer to the food chain; and the study of the presence of EDCs in living organisms, and their possible bioaccumulation in tissues and human biological fluids (placenta, urine, hair, saliva, serum, etc. The members of the group are specialists in the use of analytical techniques, such as liquid and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, in the development of numerous sample treatment techniques (LLE, LLME, SPME, SPE, USE, PLE, SBSE, SM-SLLME, dSPE, QuEChERs) and in the validation of the analytical methods optimized. The research group has also specialists in different fields of science such as nutrition, zoology, biochemistry, microbiology and toxicology, in order to develop multidisciplinary projects.

Project description:

In this project, we propose to study the concentration - and sex-dependent metabolic dysregulation and gut microbiota alterations caused by obesogens using a novel approach that integrates multi-omics technologies, chemical quantification, and histopathology. ObesOMICs represents an interdisciplinary, multi-analytical, and innovative study that evaluates molecular-, cellular-, tissue-, and organismal-level changes by exposure of zebrafish to EDCs. The ultimate aim is to examine the underlying mechanisms of these effects and search for potential Adverse Outcome Pathways-based biomarkers. Concentrations of EDCs and metabolites will be measured in test water and fish tissue (bioaccumulation). Lipid metabolism will be assessed including morphometric parameters, lipid content, neutral lipid deposition, liver and intestine histopathology, and transcriptome. In addition, gut microbiota composition and function, as well as metabolome will be evaluated. Finally, AOP-based biomarkers and endpoints will be selected and used to evaluate the effects caused by other obesogens as a validation stage. This approach will allow the comparison between responses induced by obesogens in zebrafish, in order to bridge the gap in the knowledge about the relationship between effects caused by obesogens in different scales of analysis. Overall, results obtained in this proposal will be relevant for chemical and environmental policy regulators, pharmaceutical and food industry, human obesity studies, standardisation organisms, and future risk assessments.

Research Area:

• Chemistry (CHE)

• Environment and Geosciences (ENV)

• Life Sciences (LIFE)

For a correct evaluation of your candidature, please send the documents below to Professor Alberto Zafra Gómez (azafra@ugr.es):

• CV
• Letter of recommendation (optional)