Post-Doctoral Research Associate: Indoor air quality (Fixed Term)

University of Cambridge; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge invites applications for a post-doctoral research associate to work on indoor air quality in homes under the INQUIRE project. The role focuses on modelling exposure and supporting cross-institution collaboration across Europe and Australia.

We seek a PhD (or near completion) with strong quantitative skills and experience in R/Python/MATLAB, who can travel within Europe for consortium meetings and contribute to scientific

Qualifications

• PhD (or near completion) in environmental science, exposure science, aerosol/atmospheric science, epidemiology, biostatistics, or related field.
• Strong quantitative skills and experience with large environmental or biomonitoring datasets.
• Proficiency in R, Python or MATLAB.
• Excellent written and verbal communication within a multinational consortium.
• Willingness to travel within Europe for consortium meetings.

Responsibilities

• Lead UCAM's contribution to Task 5.2 modelling respiratory deposition and exposure estimates.
• Apply lung deposition modelling to translate data into internal dose estimates.
• Link IAQ and biomonitoring data to health outcomes and exposure determinants.
• Collaborate with WP1–WP3 partners for data integration.
• Prepare data for deposition in FAIR repositories and co-author publications.
• Present results at consortium meetings and conferences.
• Supervise associated students/research assistants.

Skills

Quantitative skills

R/Python/MATLAB

Excellent communication

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Education

PhD (or near completion) in environmental science or related field

Tools

R

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 1 year in the first instance.

Applications are invited for a post-doctoral research associate to join the group of Professor Chiara Giorio at the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry to work on indoor air quality in homes within the framework of the INQUIRE project, a EU-Horizon Europe-funded research and innovation action involving 20 institutions across Europe and Australia. INQUIRE investigates the chemical and biological determinants of indoor air quality (IAQ) in over 200 European homes with infants and young children, with the aim of protecting citizen health and informing future IAQ regulation.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead UCAM's contribution to Task 5.2, including modelling of respiratory deposition of indoor particulate matter and estimation of exposure to aerosol-bound chemicals, using measurement data generated in WP2 (chemical/biological profiling) and WP3 (toxicity assessment).
• Apply lung deposition modelling approaches (accounting for age, gender, activity level, and respiratory tract disease status) to translate ambient/indoor concentration data into internal dose estimates.
• Contribute to statistical analyses linking IAQ and human biomonitoring (HBM) data to self-reported health outcomes and questionnaire-derived exposure determinants (e.g. socioeconomic status, building characteristics, product use).
• Collaborate with WP1 (sampling/biomonitoring), WP2 (chemical/biological characterisation) and WP3 (toxicity) partners to ensure appropriate integration of exposure and effect data.
• Contribute findings to INQUIRE's cross-project synthesis and to the "INQUIRE Action Plan for Promoting Healthy Homes in Europe".
• Prepare data for deposition in FAIR repositories and co-author scientific publications and stakeholder-facing outputs.
• Contribute to INQUIRE reporting requirements.
• Present results at INQUIRE consortium meetings (General Assembly, WP5 workshops) and relevant international conferences.
• Contribute to supervision of any associated students/research assistants at UCAM working on related tasks.

Essential requirements:

• PhD (or near completion) in environmental science, exposure science, aerosol/atmospheric science, epidemiology, biostatistics, or a closely related field.
• Strong quantitative/statistical skills and experience handling large, multi-source environmental and/or biomonitoring datasets.
• Proficiency in a relevant programming/statistical environment (e.g. R, Python, or MATLAB).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively within a large, multidisciplinary, multinational consortium.
• Willingness to travel occasionally within Europe for consortium meetings.

Desirable:

• Demonstrable experience in exposure modelling and/or air pollution health-effects research (e.g. particle deposition modelling, dosimetry, or exposure¿response analysis).
• Experience with human biomonitoring data or epidemiological cohort data (e.g. birth cohort studies).
• Familiarity with indoor air quality sensor data and/or suspect/non-target chemical screening datasets.
• Experience with FAIR data principles and open-science data management.
• Prior experience within EU Horizon/H2020-funded consortium projects.

Anticipated Start Date: as soon as possible after recruitment process is completed (e.g., September/October 2026)

We welcome applications from individuals who wish to be considered for part-time working or other flexible working arrangements.

The Department holds an Athena SWAN silver award for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.