JOB DESCRIPTION

The Biotechnology and Toxicology group of ICCRAM, together with the Consolidated Research Unit 305 at the University of Burgos, located in the north of Spain, aims to bring new methodologies to guarantee long-term nanosafety and contribute to fill current gaps in Risk Assessment (RA) and Risk Management (RM) research for multicomponent nanomaterials (MCNMs) and functionalized high-aspect ratio nanomaterials (HARNs) along their life cycle, making emphasis in the interactions between NM constituents, with other particles and the environment, as well as their release rate and fate, relying on experimental (in vitro) and modelling (in silico) research. The candidate will be involved in the project NANOCOMP (ref BU058P20), co-funded by Junta de Castilla y León and FEDER, performing research activities in the area of Safe-by-design in nanotechnology, participating as well in the daily supervision of PhD students and technicians when necessary, in collaboration with Wageningen University (The Netherlands). The following research activities performed at laboratory scale:

- Physicochemical analysis of engineered NMs as well as those of their transformation and degradation products.

- The generation of meaningful mechanistic toxicity data employing realistic in vitro models and exposure scenarios with the use of advanced toxicogenomics approaches.

SPECIFIC OBJETIVES AND TASKS

• To gain knowledge on the MCNMs/HARNs physicochemical properties along their life cycle. Generation of new data, according to ECHA recommendations, for grouping and read-across.

• To gain knowledge on the MCNMs and HARNs toxicology as well as their transformation and degradation products. Generation of new data on the biological events leading to adverse effects at molecular, organelle and cellular level (Adverse outcome pathway “AOP” approach).

• To understand the fate, behaviour and environmental exposure of MCNMs and HARNs depending on real-life environments. Migration of NPs and molecular species from the composite materials into simulated environments, with emphasis on system-dependent properties. Transformation and (bio)degradability assessment of materials through imaging and spectroscopic analyses, understanding how the environment affects release, properties and agglomeration rates.

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Dr. Juan Antonio Tamayo-Ramos (jatramos@ubu.es), Dr. Rocío Barros (rbarros@ubu.es), Sonia Martel Martin (smartel@ubu.es), and Dr. Santiago Aparicio (sapar@ubu.es).