Postdoctor in Environmental Sciences - chemical risk assessment

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 53 500 students and 6 500 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract scientists and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, all the way into the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals and populations, to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics and combinations of these fields in order to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

The department is placed at three different localities: in Gothenburg Botanical garden, at Medicinarberget in Gothenburg and Kristineberg Marine Research Station. The current position is placed in Gothenburg (Botanical garden).

Subject area
Environmental Sciences, (eco)toxicology and environmental risk assessment of chemical pollution.

Subjekt area description
Anthropogenic activities cause a continuous discharge of complex chemical mixtures into aquatic environments, such as rivers, coastal areas, and lakes. These chemicals may threaten the ecological status of aquatic systems by impairing the structure and function of aquatic life with effects cascading from individual genes to whole ecosystems. The major aim of our research is to characterize and quantify the environmental risks of complex environmental pollution, both from a scientific as well as from a regulatory perspective.

Job assignments
A major aim of the position is to develop reliable assessment strategies for “big data” in order to improve the scientific basis for an advanced chemical risk assessment, especially for complex environmental exposures. The project will make use of high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HR-MS/MS) data and chemical exposure inventories to build pollution-fingerprints. These will be combined with data from classical biodiversity surveys and molecular data on potential ecological impacts (e.g. environmental DNA surveys, metabarcoding data, and other omics datasets), with the overall aim to predict and assess the ecological risks of complex chemical pollution, linking them to anthropogenic activities.

A second aim of the position is to simplify this complexity, and to develop strategies on how such complex data can be filtered down to its essentials and incorporated into regulatory risk assessment strategies for chemicals, in Europe and beyond.

Eligibility
The applicant must hold a PhD degree in an area relevant for the tasks at hand (chemical risk assessment, ecotoxicology, toxicology, or a closely related field) or a foreign exam substantially equivalent to a PhD degree in a relevant subject. The PhD degree must be completed by the time the employment decision is made.

Preference will be given to candidates who have been awarded the degree no more than three years before the application deadline. Applicants with a degree awarded earlier may also be preferred if specific reasons exist. Such specific reasons may be a leave due to illness, parental leave, positions of trust within trade unions, service in the total defense, or other similar circumstances as well as clinical service or service/assignments relevant to the subject area.

Employment
The employment is a temporary employment during 2 years with an extent of 100 % of full time, placed at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science. Starting date is June 2022 or as soon as possible/upon agreement.


• The application should preferably be written in English and must include:
• A cover letter (motivation letter), describing how the applicant meets the selection criteria
• A list of qualifications (CV)
• Certificate of PhD exam and other educations of relevance
• Complete list of publications, including submitted and accepted manuscripts
• Employments certificates and other documents deemed important by the applicant
• Letters of recommendation (at least 2)

The most qualified candidates, in relation to the assessment criteria in the advertisement, are invited for an interview that may be conducted in English and in some cases via Zoom.

For more information and how to apply
In order to apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to register an account in our online recruitment system. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the job advertisement, and that it is submitted before the deadline. The selection of candidates is made on the basis of the qualifications registered in the application.

Closing date: 2022-03-14

 

The University of Gothenburg promotes equal opportunities, equality and diversity.

Salary is determined on an individual basis.

Applications will be destroyed or returned (upon request) two years after the decision of employment has become final. Applications from the employed and from those who appeal the decision will not be returned.

 


The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.