We (Legal medicine department of the LNS) are interested in hosting a postdoctoral fellow within the 2022 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship programme in our premises in Luxembourg for a 2 year fellowship.

Hosting offer - Institute and supervisor:

The LNS is a public institution operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Health in Luxembourg, combining the role of a national reference laboratory with that of a research institution. Organized as a multidisciplinary institute, it includes six scientific departments in the fields of anatomic and molecular forensic pathology, genetics, medical biology, forensic medicine, health protection, and microbiology. The mission of the LNS is to develop analytical and scientific expertise related to prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases and to ensure the role of a national control or reference laboratory. The institution contributes to the development, standardization and promotion of innovative laboratory methods, often in collaboration with other local and foreign analytical laboratories. Within the scope of its responsibilities, the LNS also undertakes research and teaching activities, in collaboration with partners in Luxembourg and abroad. With its modern infrastructure and advanced equipment, the LNS is an ambitious laboratory with innovative projects and long-standing expertise in public health and forensics.

The Legal Medicine Department of LNS conducts a large spectrum of forensic pathology / forensic imaging, genetic identification, forensic toxicology and drug analytical toxicology activities. The laboratory is located in a new building, with a dynamic team and cutting-edge equipment. Capacity includes Agilent single quadrupole GC-MS, GC-MS/HS/FID, HPLC/UV/MS, HPLC/QTOF/MS, HPLC Ultimate 3000, FRX Thermo Scientific SPECTRACE ARL QUANT’X EDXRF Analyzer, Karl Fischer titrator instruments, molecular extraction systems, 8-capillary genetic analyzer, Metrohm titration software, Biosilicium LIMS. There is also access to a Computed Tomography (CT) unit. The department is composed of 40 highly trained staff, including 3 certified forensic pathologists, and 10 PhD scientists.

Hosting offer - Project idea:

Development and validation of DNA methylation-based forensic age determination assay(s) of the highest possible precision and accuracy by pyrosequencing or ddPCR. These may include mitochondrial or telomere DNA methylation measurements, or telomerase activity, ideally by

ddPCR (MethlyLight ddPCR, ddTRAP). Assessment of different biospecimen types and population groups would be important. Collaboration with other LNS departments would allow a successful candidate to add, for example, Illumina Infinium Methylation assays or whole genome sequencing for examination of the methylation status of repetitive DNA elements. Other ideas, aimed at increasing precision and accuracy of a DNA methylation-based forensic age determination tool, would be welcome.

Development of an integrated approach for determination of the site of origin of biological fluids, based primarily on microbiome / microbiological assays, possibly in combination with human gene expression analysis of tissue-of-origin-specific genes. Collaboration with other LNS departments would allow the successful candidate to add a protein examination research component, by LC-MS, targeting body site-specific proteins of interest.

This is a unique opportunity to implement your research project idea in a multidisciplinary institute that combines an accredited environment with the highest technical standards of research infrastructure. You will be able to develop your idea as a proof-of-concept at national scale, while being trained in laboratory method validation according to international accreditation standards. Your experience at LNS will open-up career opportunities in a range of laboratories, from pure research to scientific police and forensic laboratories.

Hosting offer – What we are looking for:

PhD with 1-5 years post-PhD experience in some or all of the following domains: genetic identification analysis, gene expression analysis, ddPCR, DNA methylation analysis, 16SrRNA gene sequencing, molecular extractions, sequencing, biostatistics, and bioinformatics, and with a keen interest in forensics. Autonomous, dynamic, able to work in a multi-cultural environment and ready to take advantage of a unique opportunity to lead a molecular forensics project, with potential downstream application at national level.

Hosting offer – Keywords:

• Forensic identification
• DNA methylation aging clock
• ddPCR
• microbiota
• biological matrices

Required documents:

Please use the link below to submit your application and include in PDFs:

• Your CV
• A project description that is both in line with the expectations listed above as well as your background

About Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA PF):

The MSCA PF are very competitive postdoctoral fellowships, financed through the European Commission for 2 year positions, covering salary and research costs of the researchers, who can come from anywhere in the world. A central element of the evaluation process is an excellent project, the career development of the candidate, and the complementarity with the host. Why should you consider applying to these fellowships? MSCA PF is an internationally recognized quality label that will significantly increase your career perspectives around the world. Many projects feature a strong collaboration with the private sector, thus opening alternative career paths. Why should you apply to the opportunity below? If selected by the host institute, you will receive extensive support through the Luxemburgish National Contact Points, that will offer guidance material, grant writing trainings and proposal revisions for free (see also below).

Minimal eligibility criteria

• PhD at the submission deadline (Sep 14^th 2022)
• PhD date cannot be more than 8 years before submission deadline (for exceptions see rules)
• Not working or living in Luxembourg for a total of longer than 12 months in the three years preceding the call deadline
• If successful, you will have to work on the project in Luxembourg – remote work from your home country will not be possible
• If selected by a host to jointly write the research proposal, we expect that you comply with any agreements made between you and the host, for example regarding milestones and deadlines, during the proposal writing. Please note that the grant application is very competitive and will require you to spend a significant amount of time on writing during the summer of 2022
• In order to benefit from the NCP support services (see below), you need to comply with the instructions that you will receive (for example use the correct template and follow the guidelines)
• For the eligibility rules from the European Commission, see here

Apply here

There are two steps: Step 1: You apply through the link below to the host of your interest. Step 2: If they select you, you will write a research proposal together that will be submitted by September 14^th 2022 and then be evaluated by experts in your field, with a result due around February 2023. The projects (and thus funding) can start earliest around April 2023.

Step 1: Please fill out the application form until April 30^th 2022 – please note that we cannot accept applications without the application form. Please include your CV with a list of publications and check above if this profile requires you to submit additional documents (motivation letter, project idea). There are no templates or requirements for any of these elements so please use your best judgement. Incomplete submissions or generic submissions that are not matching the requested profile will be ignored without reply. You will receive an acknowledgement of your documents within a few weeks. The host institutes are required to give you a positive or negative answer by May 7^th 2022. If you have not heard back by then, it is most likely that the host institute was not interested in your application.

If you apply to multiple positions, please use one form per application and finetune your documents to the respective profile.

Please note that applications are made through Luxinnovation, your contact point for Horizon Europe in Luxembourg, before being handed over to the host company.

Free support during your application: Luxinnovation, the Luxembourgish Innovation agency and National Contact Point for MSCA, will support both you and your future host institute during your application phase, as long as the host is supporting your application. For all applicants coming to Luxembourg we offer guidance documents, webinars, training in proposal writing and we will review your proposals if you wish so (depending on our availability). For the reviews by our service, you will be asked to adhere to certain templates, guidelines and deadlines – failure to do so might result in refusal for further support from the NCP services. In the past, on average, proposals that have been reviewed by our NCPs are twice as likely to be funded than the ones that have not.

More information can be found on our website. In order to prepare for the proposal writing, we recommend that you start reading the guide for applicants and watch our past trainings.

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