Call for expressions of interest - 10 PhD opportunities to research in one of the 10 main IATA's Strategic Research Lines

 The Institute of Agrochemestry and Food Technology (IATA), research institute belonging to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), located in Valencia Spain, is offering 10 PhD opportunities for researchers who wish to work in an institute of excellence pursuing cutting-edge topics in food science and food technology. Applications will be admitted up to the 18th of January 2023. This contract is incompatible with other pre-doctoral training contracts. 

The length of the contracts will be 4 years, the dedication will be full-time and the remuneration will be € 21,923 euros the first year, € 23,137 euros the second year and € 28,575 the remaining two years. In addition, the chosen people will have an extra fund of 6,860 euros for research expenses.

In order to be eligible for these contracts, candidates must be admitted or enroled in a DOCTORATE program in the 2022/2023 academic year. Even if they are not enrolled or admitted, they are in a position to do it at the date of the contract formalisation. It´s required to have been completed 300 credits at the time of the call application resolution (JUNE 2023).

The sustainable production and conservation of healthy and safe foods for an increasing world population is one of the major challenges to our society, and also a pillar of public health and economic welfare. The food industry of the future will rely on talented multidisciplinary scientific teams such as those assembled in the IATA. If you are interested in joining a center of excellence focused on research in Food Science, at IATA we offer 10 fully funded PhD contracts.

IATA aims to promote the research produced in the center in 4 different areas. 

RP1: FOOD FOR HEALTH Understanding how diet affects health and consumer needs, and using this information to develop new foods and dietary recommendations for personalized nutrition, will contribute to disease prevention and consumer-oriented food development. This programme takes a holistic view of the different factors that may be involved. Priority research topics of scientific and social interest which will be addressed through ongoing and future research projects are:

• RP1.1-Food for health: Microbiome and health (CEX2021-001189-S-20-1).

• RP1.2-Food for health: Food Bioactives (CEX2021-001189-S-20-2).

RP2: ENSURING FOOD SAFETY AGAINST EMERGING RISKS: Guaranteeing food safety and evaluating emerging risks in the food chain are vital for future food production and the supply system in a highly interlinked and competitive global economy. Priority research topics within this programme include:

• RP2.1- Ensuring food safety against emerging risks: Detection of biological and chemical (CEX2021-001189-S-20-3).

• RP2.2- Ensuring food safety against emerging risks: New strategies for ensuring food safety (CEX2021-001189-S-20-4).

RP3: SUSTAINABLE FOODS - FROM PRODUCTION TO PRESERVATION Sustainable food production for an increasing population is one of the major challenges we face. This requires the design of more efficient bio-based processes as well as ensuring and prolonging food quality to reduce food waste. The priority research lines which will be developed within this programme are:

• RP3- Sustainable Foods- from production to preservation: New ingredients and sustainable packaging materials from waste and biomass valorisation (CEX2021-001189-S-20-5).

• RP3- Sustainable Foods- from production to preservation: Improving sustainability food processes (CEX2021-001189-S-20-6).

• RP3- Sustainable Foods- from production to preservation: Cell Factories for sustainable ingredients/food production (CEX2021-001189-S-20-7).

RP4: FOOD DATA SCIENCE: Big Data Science and Artificial Intelligence tools into our research lines in order to make seminal contributions in the Food Science area related to sustainability, health and food safety. This Scientific Goal, probably the most crucial of this strategic plan, deserves further elaboration on how we foresee its potential:

• RP4- Food data science- Food for health (CEX2021-001189-S-20-8).

• RP4- Food data science- Ensuring food safety against emerging risks (CEX2021-001189-S-20-9).

• RP4- Food data science: Sustainable food- from production to preservation (CEX2021-001189-S-20-10).

Required Documentation:

• Graduate and Master degree certification

• CV

• IATA Strategic Lines [Prioritize up to 3 different strategic lines, CEX2021-001189-S-20-X ]

• 1 Motivation letter • Copy of valid passport (non-resident foreigners)

• 2 different contacts (email and phone) to ask for personal references

The evaluation committee will take into account the adequacy of the profiles to the 10 strategic research lines of IATA, as well as the personal CV. In addition, it may be required to do personal/streaming interviews.

The quality of our research has been recognized with the recent award of the “Severo Ochoa Distinction”. This highly selective distinction is awarded by Spain’s National Research Agency to “fund and accredit public research centres and units in any scientific area that demonstrate international scientific impact and leadership”. In Spain, this is the first time it has been awarded to a food technology research Institute, IATA.

If you are interested to apply to this call, please contact us through the email: international@iata.csic.es to ask any questions and send required documents to apply.

About Us: 

The Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), created in 1966, is a center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Its scientific-technical objective is to carry out research of excellence on the production of sustainable and quality food, taking into account its safety, health impact and consumer acceptance.

IATA's research is divided in 4 main research lines:  innovation in food and processes; food safety and preservation; diet, microbiota and health and biotechnology applied to food.