Job offer

Inria, the French national research institute for the digital sciences; France; Sur place; EUR 40 000 - 60 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Une opportunité passionnante se présente dans un institut de recherche de premier plan, où vous serez au cœur d'un projet interdisciplinaire innovant. Ce poste postdoctoral vous permettra de plonger dans le monde fascinant de la biologie des systèmes, en développant des modèles métaboliques pour des bactéries difficiles à cultiver. Vous travaillerez en étroite collaboration avec des experts en microbiologie et en modélisation, contribuant à des avancées significatives dans la compréhension des interactions métaboliques. Ce rôle offre un environnement stimulant, avec des possibilités de télétravail et une flexibilité dans l'organisation des horaires, tout en vous permettant de participer à des événements sociaux et culturels. Si vous êtes passionné par la recherche et souhaitez laisser votre empreinte dans le domaine, cette position est faite pour vous.

Prestations

Remboursement partiel des frais de transport public

7 semaines de congés annuels

Possibilité de télétravail

Équipement professionnel disponible

Accès à la formation professionnelle

Couverture de sécurité sociale

Qualifications

• Expérience en modélisation et biologie des systèmes souhaitée.
• Compétences en bioinformatique et en gestion de données génomiques.

Responsabilités

• Développer des modèles métaboliques pour mieux comprendre les fonctions métaboliques.
• Collaborer avec des microbiologistes pour affiner les modèles et guider les expériences.

Connaissances

Modélisation / biologie des systèmes

Bioinformatique

Modélisation métabolique

Compétences analytiques

Travail collaboratif

Formation

Doctorat en biologie

Formation en bioinformatique

Outils

Outils de bioinformatique

Description du poste

Inria, the French national research institute for the digital sciences

Organisation/Company: Inria, the French national research institute for the digital sciences

Research Field: Computer science

Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 30 Apr 2025 - 00:00 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 38.5

Offer Starting Date: 1 Sep 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Reference Number: 2025-08783

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The postdoctoral position is offered as part of a partnership between INRAE (the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment) and Inria (the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology). It is funded by the TARGET project, promoted by INRAE’s EXPLOR'AE "high-risk research" programme.

The TARGET project is an interdisciplinary initiative combining microbiology, culturomics, genetic engineering, systems biology, and modelling. It is a four-year research project. The postdoctoral position offered within this project is for an initial two-year period, with the possibility of renewal for an additional two years.

Context of the project:

Since the late 19th century, microbiologists have been developing culture media and techniques to study microorganisms such as bacteria, archaea, yeasts, and filamentous fungi. However, only a small fraction of bacterial species are currently cultivable, severely limiting their study. While advances in metagenomics have highlighted this limitation, genome sequencing alone has not provided sufficient explanations for why many bacterial species remain unculturable. This lack of cultivability remains a scientific enigma and a major barrier to applications in fields such as disease control, antibiotic discovery, biomolecule production, microbiome management, and bioremediation. In bacteria that live in association with eukaryotic hosts, understanding metabolic interactions with their partners opens new possibilities for developing tailored culture media, thereby facilitating their study. Using grapevine Flavescence Dorée phytoplasma as a proof of concept, the TARGET project aims to demonstrate that integrating systems biology, genome engineering, and culturomics can help overcome the challenge of bacterial non-cultivability.

This postdoctoral position is part of the project’s metabolic modelling work package, with objectives including the development of numerical models for the metabolism of minimal bacteria and Flavescence Dorée phytoplasma. These models will be used to predict suitable culture media. The project involves close collaboration between modellers and microbiologists to bridge computational and experimental approaches.

The recruited researcher will work in collaboration between Inria Pleiade team in Talence and INRAE BFP (Fruit biology and Pathology) unit at Villenave d'Ornon. At Inria, the work will be carried under the supervision of Clémence Frioux. Pleiade hosts researchers in mathematics, computer science and computational biology working on developing approaches for microbial community characterisation. Two teams are involved at INRAE: MOLLI (Pascal Sirand Pugnet) where most of the experimentations will be carried out, and META specialised in metabolic modelling. The co-supervisor of the position is Sylvain Prigent, researcher in the META team.

The recruited postdoctoral researcher will be the main modeller of the systems biology work package.

The work focuses on constructing metabolic models of Mollicutes and Flavescence Dorée phytoplasma (FDp) to better understand their metabolic functions and predict suitable growth media. Initially, the work will apply proven strategies to well-studied Mollicutes, refining models and predicting culture conditions, followed by validation experiments carried out by collaborators. A similar approach will then be used to develop and validate models for Spiroplasma citri and FDp. Comparative metabolic network analysis across Mollicutes will help generate functional insights, while further efforts will explore dynamic models of FDp metabolism within its hosts. Ultimately, the project aims to integrate symbiotic interactions into these models to enhance understanding of FDp physiology in insect vectors.

Strong collaborations are planned within the TARGET consortium in order to provide hypotheses for new experimentations and to integrate into models experimental results.

Specific Requirements:

• Experience in modelling / systems biology: Prior experience in computational modelling, particularly in the context of biological systems, is highly desirable.
• Bioinformatics skills: Proficiency in handling genomic and metabolic data, with experience in relevant bioinformatics tools and pipelines.
• Metabolic modelling: Ideally, familiarity with metabolic network reconstruction, constraint-based modelling, and dynamic models.
• Autonomy and strong analytical and writing skills: Ability to work independently, synthesise complex information, and contribute to scientific publications.
• Interest in interdisciplinary research and collaborative work: Willingness to engage with microbiologists and experimentalists to refine models and guide laboratory experiments.

Languages:

• Proficiency in English is expected for disseminating results through research papers and in conferences.
• Basic proficiency in French is also required.

Additional Information

• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
• Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
• Possibility of teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
• Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
• Social, cultural and sports events and activities
• Access to vocational training
• Social security coverage

The gross monthly salary will be 2788€ (Before social security contributions and monthly withholding tax).

Selection process:

If you are interested in this job, please apply on the website jobs.inria with the following documents: