Postdoctoral Position - Bioactive NanoParticles for Sustainable Agriculture

euraxess.ec.europa.eu - Jobboard; España; Presencial; EUR 30.000 - 40.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

CEU San Pablo University invites postdoctoral researchers to apply for the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowships. The selected candidates will engage in innovative research focusing on plant adaptation and microbial interactions to advance sustainable agriculture. Ideal candidates will hold a PhD in relevant fields and showcase a robust interest in applied microbiology and plant sciences.

Formación

• Postdoctoral candidates of any nationality (max. 8 years after defense).
• Strong background on Plant physiology, pharmacognosy, microbiology.
• Skills in molecular techniques and interpretation.

Responsabilidades

• Conduct research on beneficial microorganisms to improve plant fitness and agronomic yield.
• Synthesize nanoparticles with essential elements for plant nutrition.
• Study mechanisms to trigger plant defense against stress.

Conocimientos

Plant physiology

Pharmacognosy

Microbiology

Molecular techniques

Basic microbiological analysis

Educación

PhD in Biology, Plant sciences, Pharmacy

Descripción del empleo

Organisation / Company CEU San Pablo University Department Faculty of Pharmacy Laboratory Planta-Microbioma Is the Hosting related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

USP-CEU welcomes early stage postdoctoral researchers with an excellent track record, to apply to the European Commission Marie Sklodowska-Curie (MSCA-25) Postodoctoral Felloships or any other R2 reseach calls, such as: Juan de la Cierva (Spanish Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation) or Atracción Talento (Madrid Regional Goverment).

Selected candidates will be provided with special assistance for proposal writing and development. Our University has been beneficiary of 8 MSCA PF since 2017, including one MSCA-PF with an evaluation of 100/100 in 2021.

USP Core Research Facilities, provide state-of-the-art technological services to research groups ( https://www.uspceu.com/investigacion/servicios-apoyo ). In addition, our lab is equipped for molecular analysis (Bio Rad MiniOpticon qPCR unit, Applied Biosystems thermal cyclers (PCR System 2700, NanoDrop 2000, Thermo, Biorad Experion; equipment for electrophoresis in agarose gels and the Biorad GelDoc 2000 system for subsequent visualization of the gels). For photosynthetic efficiency measurements a FMS2 fluorimeter (Fluorescence Monitoring System, Hansatech, Norfolk, UK), and an infrared gas analyzer (TARGAS-1 PP System). Also available are HPLC (HP 1100) equipped with a Diode Array detector, a BioMate5 spectrophotometer (Thermo Electron Corporation) as well as a plate spectrophotometer (Heales MB-580). Plant growth facilities include a growth chamber (Pol-EKO, KK500IG smart pro) and a 50 m2 greenhouse in which two 10 m2 controlled conditions chambers, where the experiments will be carried out. The greenhouse is equipped with all the necessary home automation systems to be able to control light and temperature conditions.

• Silver nanoparticles coated with metabolites of Pseudomonas sp. N5.12 inhibit bacterial pathogens and fungal phytopathogens. 10.1038/s41598-024-84503-z
• Iron Deficiency in Tomatoes Reversed by Pseudomonas Strains: A Synergistic Role of Siderophores and Plant Gene Activation DOI: 10.3390/plants13243585
• Peribacillus aracenensis sp.nov., a plant growth promoting bacteria for agriculture in water-scarce conditions isolated from Pinus pinaster rhizosphere. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39973
• Bacillus G7 improves adaptation to salt stress in Olea europaea L. plantlets, enhancing water use efficiency and preventing oxidative stress. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49533-z

Related ongoin Research project:

BIO-NANOPARTICLES LOADED WITH BACTERIAL ELICITORS TO IMPROVE PLANT ADAPTATION TO WATER LIMITING CONDITIONS (DROUGHT AND SALINITY). ACRONYM: BIONANO. MSCA4UK-2023-2025

Research Project Description

This proposal grounds on the research experience of the group on beneficial microorganisms to improve plant fitness and agronomic yield.

Results arising from the latest project BIONANO have shown the ability of bacterial metabolites to reduce Ag+, synthetizing bio-NP with a strong beneficial effect on plants under stress, at very low concentrations, while maintaining a healthy soil microbial balance. The present proposal aims to i) synthetize NP with essential elements for plant nutrition, studying effects on plants and mechanisms of action; ii) study mechanisms of action to trigger plant defense mechanisms against biotic stress (plant pathogens) and abiotic stress (drought); iii) evaluate environmental safety issues; and iv) evaluate food quality by improving bioactive molecules contents in fruits. The overall goal is to lower chemical inputs from fertilization and pathogen controls within sustainable agriculture. Experiments will be carried out in tomato as model plant.

Technologies to be used: plant experimental set up, PCR, qPCR, metagenomic analysis, transcriptomic analysis, basic microbiological tools, spectrophotometric analysis.

Candidate requirements: P ostdoctoral candidates of any nationality (max. 8 years after defense) with:

• PhD in Biology, Plant sciences, Pharmacy
• Strong background on Plant physiology, pharmacognosy, microbiology.
• Solid and true interest in learning about these topics.
• Skills in molecular techniques and interpretation, basic microbiological analysis

Application: An expression of interest shall be sent to [e-mail] (Attn.: Dra. Beatriz Ramos-Solano). Your file should contain the following elements:

• A short CV (Max. 2 pages)
• A short statement explaining why CEU would be the best host institution for your research.
• Two letters of reference.

For MSCA-PF 25 call, at the deadline for the submission of proposals (10/09/2025) candidates shall have a maximum of 8 years of postdoctoral research experience and must not have resided or carried out their main activities in Spain or more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the abovementioned deadline.

Those files received before 15th of June y will be considered for MSCA-PF 2025 and MSCA4Ukraine 2025 call. Applications received after this date , will be considered for other calls after discussion with the candidate.

Keywords: NANOPARTICLES, BIOFERTILISERS, PLANT ADAPTATION, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, BENEFICIAL BACTERIA