Junior research scientist in human nutrition and metabolic health

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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 conduct your research within the Human Nutrition unit (UNH) in Clermont-Ferrand, an INRAE University of Clermont-Auvergne joint research unit that studies diet-health relationships to design effective nutritional and multimodal strategies for successful ageing. The UNH provides a dynamic, cross-disciplinary scientific environment with 5 research teams (120 permanent staff), a mass spectrometry platform specialised in metabolomics (Metabolism Exploration Platform, component of the national infrastructure MetaboHUB), and experimental facilities for rodents and minipigs, and access to the Exploration of Nutrition Unit at the Human Nutrition Research Centre (CRNH) Auvergne for the clinical studies. 

You will join the VaRIAe team that studies interindividual differences in metabolic and inflammatory responses to food and identifies their determinants to elaborate customised nutritional prevention strategies for cardiometabolic diseases. The work of the team combines preclinical approaches, clinical trials on patients or healthy volunteers, and cohort studies. The team includes 14 permanent staff, of which 8 scientists with complementary expertise, including an internationally recognised long-lasting expertise on polyphenols metabolism and their protective effects on vascular function.
Dietary polyphenols contribute to cardiometabolic health and the preservation of cognitive function by acting more particularly on inflammation, oxidative stress, and the intestinal microbiota. However, their wide diversity, as well as the interindividual variability in their metabolism and the biological responses to their consumption, continues to hinder the understanding of their effects and their total integration in preventive nutrition approaches. You will coordinate a research programme aimed at characterising, understanding, and predicting interindividual variability in the absorption and metabolism of polyphenols in humans, then assessing the impact on their health effects. This research will help advance precision nutrition and will pave the way to innovative dietary recommendations to strengthen disease prevention and health of populations.

You will identify and characterise metabotypes, which are defined as groups of individuals sharing the same capacity of absorption and metabolism of polyphenols. You will propose and test new hypotheses to identify factors linked to the host, the gut microbiota, the dietary, or environmental factors that affect interindividual variability in the metabolism of these plant bioactives. You will develop methods of metabotype stratification to study, in collaboration with other scientists from the UNH or external collaborators, the differences in response related to these metabotypes on targets such as vascular function, inflammation, glucose homeostasis, intestinal health, or even cognitive decline.
To successfully carry out your mission, you will be able to implement clinical studies and use samples from intervention protocols or well-characterised cohorts. You will use metabolomics and benefit from the cutting-edge equipment, as well as the analytical and biostatistical expertise of the Metabolism Exploration Platform. You will also rely on biomarkers and methodological tools developed within the team for the detailed, integrative characterisation of individual exposure to plant bioactives. Finally, you will benefit from VaRIAe team’s extensive network of international collaborators. As soon as you join the team, you will be assisted in preparing and submitting funding applications.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent).
A specialisation in Nutrition/Physiology/Life and health sciences, as well as knowledge of the metabolism of bioactive compounds (especially polyphenols), is recommended.
Experience in conducting clinical trials, especially on plant bioactives, or in mass spectrometry based metabolomics, would be a major asset. 
Skills in multivariate statistics and integrative data analysis, or the desire to learn, will also be of value.
Strong ability to work wihin a collaborative research environment with partners bringing diverse expertises. You should have good writing skills and an interest in scientific communication for different audiences.
You should have a good command of English, and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

Your future role explained in video

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-AlimH-2
3. I apply GO