Junior research scientist in quantitative geography or spatial economics applied to regional "One Health" approach

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will work at the TETIS research unit in Montpellier, at the Maison de la Télédétection, which also houses the Espace-Dev research unit and companies specializing in remote sensing and spatial information. The lab is a highly multidisciplinary unit developing applied research in the field of spatial information. It offers a welcoming environment for researchers in the social sciences (geography, economics) and encourages the development of innovative approaches by promoting interaction with researchers from other disciplines (remote sensing, data science, spatial modeling). You will join the “Diagnosis and Anticipation through Spatial Modeling and Analysis of Territories” research group and participate in the unit's scientific activities focused on the major challenges of "Preserving biodiversity and strengthening the health of socio-ecosystems“ and ”Characterizing inequalities and promoting socio-spatial justice."
You will also benefit from a large network of collaborators in the Montpellier area (e.g., i-site MUSE Exposum, MSH Sud, MEEDIN, Health Ecology networks), the INRAE network (Territoires de Santés seminar, ModStatSAP network) in France, and international networks (PEER Network, Ecosystem Services Partnership, IPBES).
Addressing the challenges related to health independently of those related to biodiversity, food, and climate change can lead to ineffective (and even costly) policies. Your research will contribute to the development of quantitative and spatial methodologies that operationalize ‘One health’ and nexus approaches and enable the evaluation of land use policies with a global health perspective. This may involve the concept of « one health territories » (« territoires de santés »), referring to spaces of varying sizes where collective actions are deployed to manage risks in a comprehensive manner. You will study the types of spatial organizations (e.g. landscape structure) that promote or hinder global health, developing methods in the short term to map multiple risks (pathogenesis) and then, in the medium term, analyses of what constitutes global health (salutogenesis). From a geographical perspective, the research focus will be on developing quantitative and spatial analysis methodologies (statistics, modeling) based on multiple data sets (epidemiological, biophysical, and socioeconomic). From an economic perspective, you will evaluate human health-focused development policies versus integrated approaches, addressing issues of urbanization, climate change, and pressure on biodiversity.
You will join the TETIS lab (Montpellier) organized into research groups developing innovative approaches to spatial information to support regions facing major social and environmental challenges. This structure is designed to promote cross-disciplinary perspectives and interactions. You will be responsible for conducting research on the operationalization of nexus and One health approaches by developing methodologies and analytical tools that are useful for land use planning and health stakeholders in addressing for instance the following questions: How do spatial effects (agglomeration, displacement) affect global health in a given territory? Which populations are most impacted by land use planning policies? Which land use planning policies (dis)advantage global health?
These questions will be developed through case studies involving health and environmental stakeholders (e.g., DGS, DGALN, ARS, etc.). In the short term, your research will focus on pathogenesis approaches, for which data (environmental and epidemiological data from the unit's projects—e.g., MOOD, BEYOND, THEIA Spatial Data Center) are available, in order to assess and map risks to animal health, human health, or plant health in France. In the medium term, your research will focus on salutogenesis approaches, examining forms of land use planning that promote health (e.g., prevention of zoonoses through biodiversity).
To conduct your research, you will have privileged access to the spatial modeling tools produced by the unit (e.g., Ocelet, ArboCarto, Urban InVEST, BiodivMapR, FORDEAD, etc.) and will be able to participate in French collaborative projects (e.g., Vulnerability of Populations and Ecosystem Services - VULPES, Agralife - Sustainable Livestock Farming, Vegetation-Ecosystem Services and Arboviruses) and international projects (e.g., Horizon Europe MOSAIC). Within INRAE, the position is linked to the BIOSEFAIR and XRISQUES metaprograms. Finally, you will have access to financial resources in accordance with the unit's operating rules.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent).
Candidates must hold a PhD in social sciences (quantitative geography or spatial economics) or equivalent. The candidate must have:
i) The ability to conduct research, develop and manage projects, using a systemic approach as required for the One Health and Nexus themes;
ii) Solid experience in spatial quantitative approaches (geomatics, statistics, or spatial modeling dealing with heterogeneous data) including social dimensions;
iii) Demonstrated ability to conduct research in collaboration with stakeholders to support public policy;
iv) Demonstrated ability to work in a team and interact with other disciplines (e.g., ecologists, epidemiologists, climatologists, etc.).
Experience with public policy evaluation methodologies would also be an asset.

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Guide for applicants 2026 pdf - 1.41 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR26-ACT-1
3. I apply GO