¿Cómo afectan los productos fitosanitarios a la biodiversidad? Dos años de postdoc en en IREC

Postdoctoral position on Ecotoxicology: modelling environmental and biodiversity processes


The two‐year, full‐time postdoctoral position includes environmental risk assessment tasks to support and promote efficient overall protection of biodiversity against chemical substances such as plant protection products.

The Research Group in Wildlife Toxicology of the Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC – CSIC, UCLM, JCCM) offers a postdoctoral position within the framework of the Project “ Partnership for the Assessment of Risks of Chemicals (PARC)”, funded by the research and innovation program Horizon europe. In particular, the tasks to be carried out by the person occupying the position will align with the objectives of PARC’s Work Package 6.4.4 on “Risk assessment to support and promote efficient overall protection of biodiversity".

We are seeking for a profile that complements the expertise of the current team members. Therefore, the candidate does not necessarily have to hold previous expertise on wildlife toxicology, but rather skills on modelling environmental and biodiversity processes, including some expertise in at least one of the following topics of relevance: ecological interactions, energy flow within ecosystems, environmental fate of chemical substances, population modelling and ecological niche modelling.

The selected candidate will work in the multidisciplinary environment of the IREC, where wildlife toxicologists maintain close collaboration with researchers from other groups (wildlife ecology and management, animal health and biotechnology). In addition, the candidate will enjoy some fully equipped installations to conduct research in many disciplines (ecotoxicology, environmental physiology, genetics, genomics...) to support the activities to be conducted by the postdoctoral researcher. The postdoctoral researcher is expected to design and develop, in collaboration with the rest of team members, his/her own project within the scope of PARC’s WP 6.4.4, assuming leadership responsibilities in this process.

The IREC is a joint, public research institute whose ownership is shared between three institutions: the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the University of Castilla‐La Mancha (UCLM) and the Regional Government of Castilla‐La Mancha (JCCM). After 25 years of history, the IREC has reached a leading international position in studies associated with wildlife management and conservation, with a multi- and interdisciplinary network of scientists and a diverse environment for science, with a growing number of young researchers from all around the world. The job offered will be located in the IREC headquarters in Ciudad Real, a liveable and affordable city very well connected to the main Spanish cities by a high‐speed train, including a 50‐min connection to Madrid downtown.



Conditions of the postdoctoral positionA two‐year, full‐time contract as postdoctoral researcher in the University of Castilla‐La Mancha, linked to IREC, with the conditions stipulated by UCLM for contracts under this category. The contract is expected to start in December of January, but some flexibility is possible depending on the situation of the selected person.
The possibility of extending the contract duration as a function of budget availability and upon mutual agreement depending on the proposed research objectives.
The supervision of a PhD project related to the research line to be developed by the postdoctoral researcher.
The option to benefit from UCLM’s programmes for mobility of researchers to conduct short-term stays is institutions abroad Spain.
The possibility to participate as a lecturer in the Master's Degree in Basic and Applied Research in Game Resources (MUIBARC).
Requirements for the job

Candidates for the job offered must have a PhD degree obtained within, or recognised by, the European Space for Higher Education, a record of scientific publications relevant to one of the topics of relevance listed above and English proficiency to work in international scientific environments.
Some details of the PARC Project

The platform of PARC gives a unique opportunity to improve the current ecological risk assessment approach by bringing together regulators and environmental scientists. The activity aims at better assessing effects on overall biodiversity and the possibility to simplify (i.e. less resource demanding) the methods used for the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products (PPP) without compromising the level of protection to be ensured by the assessment. Furthermore, we will explore new holistic approaches to environmental risk assessment to overcome the shortcomings of the current substance‐by‐substance paradigm and consider the environmental context more realistically. Both existing and new models for prospective risk assessment will be reviewed and amended using monitoring data. The activity will also help to explore new frameworks for risk characterisation that support system‐based approaches to risk assessment by expanding the current approach. The activity is tailored toward supporting strategic transition initiatives such as the roadmap to systems‐based ERA and European co‐funded partnership on biodiversity.
How to apply

People interested in applying for the postdoctoral position offered within the framework of the PARC Project in the Research Group in Wildlife Toxicology of the IREC Research Group must send (1) a motivation letter (max. half page) describing how his/her profile matches any of the topics of relevance, and (2) the Curriculum vitae in English, containing information on previous positions, scientific outputs and, if possible, references for contact; to Dr. Manuel E. Ortiz-Santaliestra (manuele.ortiz@uclm.es) until November 26, 2023.