Call for Nexus Doctoral Projects - Campaign 2025

[Call for projects] - Published on November 7, 2024 in Doctoral training and hdr

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners¹ to establish an open-ended institute for the study, training and science-society interaction of the environmental determinants of human health. Winner of the ExcellenceS call for projects (PIA4) and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is funded to the tune of 46.4 M€ over the period 2022-2030.

Objectives

The training component of the Institut ExposUM aims to :

1. Decompartmentalizing training (interdisciplinarity)
2. Contribute to skills enhancement
3. Greater integration of links with developing countries

To this end, several actions will be organized, including the funding of doctoral contracts as part of a program that structures them into interdisciplinary networks, hereafter referred to as Doctoral Nexus.

The Doctoral Nexus are networks of 3 to 4 doctoral students, from different disciplines (e.g. Social Sciences - Mathematical Modeling - Biology), and affiliated to at least 2 different research units. They will be funded on the basis of :

• a joint research project, drawn up by the principal investigator in collaboration with the thesis supervisors involved, encompassing all disciplines, and aimed at studying one or more aspects of the exposome as defined above,
• an individual, disciplinary thesis topic for each doctoral student involved.

Each thesis will be funded from the outset for a period of four years. This extra year is justified by the need to set up specific training programs and to allocate more time to interdisciplinarity. In particular, exchanges between laboratories will be encouraged.

TheExposUM Institute 's doctoral promotions will be strengthened by the introduction of an additional joint pedagogical program focusing on methodology and skills acquisition, in particular interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, run within the framework of the ExposUM Institute, without replacing the training courses organized by the doctoral schools. During their third year, doctoral students in a network will be tasked with organizing (scientifically and logistically) a one-day event (e.g. seminar, conference), for which the Institute will allocate a grant.

Calendar

• Publication AAP Doctoral Nexus Wave 3: November 07, 2024
• Deadline for receipt of projects: January 24, 2025, 2 p.m. CET
• Announcement of results: second half of February 2025
• Candidate auditions: mid-May 2025
• Start of thesis: September-December 2025

Financing arrangements

For the 2025 campaign(^3rd wave of this AAP), the Institute is proposing the allocation of a maximum of 15 grants (e.g. 5 Nexus, each comprising 3 theses), funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region.

This funding covers doctoral salaries for 4 years (i.e. around 167k€) as well asenvironmental costs. These include the costs of additional training courses organized by the Institute, the organization of the scientific event, and operating expenses. The operating budget is allocated in its entirety to the project leader, who coordinates its distribution within the Nexus, i.e. around 60k€ for a Nexus of 3 theses, or 80k€ for a Nexus of 4 theses (around 20k€/thesis).

Eligibility criteria

Please note that failure to meet these criteria will result in automatic ineligibility.

• The project's main sponsor must be a staff member affiliated with a UR, UMR or UMI.² part of the Institut ExposUM consortium and employed by one of the consortium partners³. UAR, UExp, UPS, US⁴in particular, are not eligible to apply for this AAP.⁵.
• Doctoral students must be registered at the University of Montpellier , and thesis directors must be affiliated with one of the UM doctoral schools listed in this call for proposals.⁶ AND candidates must be enrolled in a discipline for which the diploma is awarded by the UM.
• The project must involve collaboration between at least two different research units (UR, UMR or UMI of the Institut ExposUM consortium).
• Thesis directors must be different for each thesis (in the exceptional case of an international co-supervision, an identical co-direction between 2 theses may be accepted with justification).
• Proposed theses must last 4 years.
• Doctoral contracts must start between September and December 2025; delayed start-ups will not be accepted.
• Each doctoral student's thesis work must be full-time.
• The project must aim to produce knowledge relating to the exposome - i.e., any determinant of human health of environmental origin in the broadest sense.

It is possible to apply for this PAA at the same time as applying for the Research ExposUM PAA. However, the project must be viable even without Research funding. In particular, projects submitted in parallel to several calls must clearly explain this, and argue the relevance and complementarity of the funding requested, as well as the viability of the project should only one of them be obtained.

How to submit

The project must be written in French or English, using the simplified file available for download at the top of the page, and following the instructions given there.

The application is sent by the main applicant, with a copy to the unit director and the directors of each thesis, by e-mail, mentioning [AAP Doctoral Nexus 2025_Nom Prénom porteur] in the subject line.

Before January 24, 2025, 2pm CET.

Selection procedure

Completed applications will be evaluated on the basis of the quality of the scientific project and the individual subjects proposed, as well as their relevance to the Institute's priorities and themes (see Selection criteria). This evaluation will be carried out by a committee made up of the directors of the divisions or doctoral schools, and representatives of the CoDir or COSS of the Institut ExposUM. The applicant is invited to provide a brief justification of the relevance of the proposed Nexus in the light of these selection criteria.

The results will be announced in the second half of February 2025, to allow time for the identification of candidates.

The selected Nexus holders undertake to take all necessary steps to identify candidates to fill the theses that will be funded.

The selection of doctoral students will be validated by the doctoral schools, and implies the publication of the proposed subjects in advance. Thesis topics will be publicized by thesis directors and the Institute.

• Thesis directors will be responsible for forwarding their project to the ED responsible for their subject, and for ensuring that it is published on ADUM where appropriate. We encourage thesis directors to circulate their thesis project sheet to their usual networks (masters, etc.).
• The Institute's project team will be responsible for publishing the topics on Euraxess and on the UM website, as well as through other internal communication channels (Linkedin, newsletter, etc.).

The selection of doctoral students will be validated by the doctoral schools, and implies the publication of the proposed subjects in advance. Thesis topics will be publicized by thesis directors and the Institute.

• Thesis directors will be responsible for forwarding their project to the ED responsible for their subject, and for ensuring that it is published on ADUM where appropriate. We encourage thesis directors to circulate their thesis project sheet to their usual networks (masters, etc.).
• The Institute's project team will publish the topics on Euraxess, the UM website and other internal communication channels (Linkedin, newsletter, etc.).

Candidates wishing to apply for a topic are invited to forward their application to the Nexus project leader concerned, with a copy to the ExposUM Institute. Contacts for applications will be specified on the topics.

Applicants will be pre-selected by the Nexus thesis directors (minimum 2, maximum 4 per subject), who will then be auditioned by a committee made up exclusively of representatives of the doctoral schools and the Institut ExposUM, who will rank the applications for each subject in mid-May.

Selection criteria

(for information only)

• clear identification of the exposome field explored,
• original interdisciplinarity relevant to the subject: the involvement of different doctoral schools in a network will be encouraged,
• methodological skills,
• potential impacts (both fundamental and applied),
• feasibility (scientific and financial environment already in place to ensure successful completion of the thesis),
• articulation of individual projects,
• relevance to the Institut ExposUM's strategic priorities (initiating new partnerships, One Health approach, Global Health and the South, promoting the involvement of the Humanities and Social Sciences)

Support for the integration of the Humanities and Social Sciences

If Nexus candidates would like support in integrating the Humanities and Social Sciences into their Nexus, the Institut ExposUM's Axis 2, headed by Aurélie Binot, offers support/incubation.

You can request this support by sending an e-mail (subject: [Nexus SHS]).

Contact

For information on this call for projects, please send an e-mail (subject: [Contact Nexus]).

Commitments

Carriers undertake to :

• Organize regular meetings (at least 3 times a year) with Nexus thesis directors and doctoral students, and provide the Institute with a report on the activities carried out each year.
• Respect, in the design and implementation of the project submitted to this call for projects, the values and principles of scientific integrity intended to guarantee the honest and scientifically rigorous nature of all research work, as referred to in article L.211-2 of the French Research Code and set out in the Charte nationale de déontologie des métiers de la recherche and the Charte relative à l'intégrité scientifique de l'Université de Montpellier.
• Compliance with the Nagoya Protocol, where applicable.
• Include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, Institut ExposUM, Région Occitanie and/or ERDF in all documents relating to the project. Specific instructions concerning the communication obligations of project sponsors will be communicated to them.
• Send to the Institute (rf.re1734205523illep1734205523tnomu1734205523@paa-1734205523musop1734205523xe1734205523), an annual report and a final report no later than two months after the end of the project (financial statement and summary report), which may be used in the University's communication media according to a template provided. A project guide detailing management procedures and reporting expectations will be sent to the selected project sponsors.
• Apply the UM's publication signature charter to all scientific productions; respect the provisions of open science and the Law for a Digital Republic (open access publication). The holders of UM sub-tutored laboratories will deposit the full text of publications in the open archive (https://hal.umontpellier.fr).
• Take steps to obtain the necessary research authorizations/approvals in regulated sectors (including genetically modified organisms, use of animals for scientific purposes, health data, use of genetic resources and resulting benefit-sharing, bioethics).

Research structures in the ExposUM consortium⁷ :

ABSYS, AGAP, AIDA, ALYENA, AMAP, ANALYSES, ART-Dev, ASTRE, BC2M, BCM, BioWooEB, , CBGP, CBS, CDE, CEE-M, CEFE, CEMIPAI, CEPEL, CERCOP, ChimEco, CRBM, CREAM, DEFE, DGIMI, DIADE, DIASCOPE, DMEM, ECO&SOLS, ECOTRON, EDSM, EDPFM, ESPACE-DEV, EuroMov DHM, Forêts et Sociétés, G-EAU, GECO, Génopolys, GM, HortSys, HSM, IATE, IBMM, ICGM, ICSM, IDEDH, IDESP, IEM, IES, IGF, IGH, IGMM, IHD, IHPE, IMAG, IMAGINE, INM, INNOVATION, INTERTRYP, IPSiM, IRCM, IRIM, IRMB, ISDM, ISEM, ITAP, L2C, LBE, LBN, LDP, LEPSE, LICeM, LIRDEF, LIRMM, LISAH, LMGC, LPHI, LSTM, LUPM, MARBEC, MISTEA, MIVEGEC, MMDN, MOISA, MRE, MRM, MSH Sud, OREME, PCCEI, Pech Rouge, PHIM, PhyMedExp, QualiSud, Recyclage et Risque, SantESiH, SELMET, SENS, SPO, Sys2Diag, TETIS, TransVIHMI, Vassal, VBIC

Logos

 UM, Occitanie Region, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CIRAD, INSERM, CHU Montpellier, ICM, Supagro, ENSCM, Ifremer, INRIA.

Institut ExposUM governance

Management Committee (CoDir) : Éric Delaporte (dir.), Aurélie Binot (interfaces), Charlotte Boullé (training), Mircea Sofonea (research).

Operational team: Camille Couralet, Agathe Lamy, Tiphaine Lefebvre, Noémie Moret, Mariline Poupaud, Elodie Suttling.

Conseil Scientifique et d'Orientation Stratégie (COSS) : Jacques Mercier (pres.), Amaria Baghdadli, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Pascal Demoly, Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon, Hélène Fenet, Didier Fontenille, Sylvain Gandon, Julie Pannequin, Denis Pesche, Coumba Toure Kane, Muriel Vayssier-Tarissat, Laurent Visier.

Conseil d'Orientation et d'Évaluation de la Research (COER): Mircea Sofonea (pres.), Anne-Muriel Arigon, Charlotte Boullé, Constance Delaby, Gauthier Dobigny, François Favier, Elena Gomez, Christelle Gramaglia, Antoine Gross, Jakub Gruszczyk, Alexandre Hobeika, Luciana Kase-Tanno, Nadine Laguette, Antonio Maraver, Pascal Neveu, Jérôme Poli, Anatja Samouelian, Paula Senff, Annelise Tran.

1. UM, Occitanie Region, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CIRAD, INSERM, CHU Montpellier, ICM, Institut Agro Montpellier, ENSCM, Ifremer, INRIA. ︎
2. Unité de Research, Unité Mixte de Research, Unité Mixte Internationale. ︎
3. The promoter must already be an official member of the structure in question - or be so by October 2025 at the latest - and in the case of contract staff, their contract with the same structure must run until the planned end of the project. The project may have one or more partner structures. However, only structures on the list of eligible structures on this call will be able to receive funding under the project. ︎
4. Unité d'Appui à la Research, Unité Expérimentale, Unité Propre de Service, Unité de Service. ︎
5. The research structures [UR, UMR, UMI, UAR, UExp, UPS and US] of the ExposUM Institute consortium are listed at the bottom of the page. ︎
6. ED 58 Langues, littératures, cultures, civilisations [LLC]
   ED 60 Territoires, temps, sociétés et développement [TTSD]
   ED 166 Information Structures Systèmes [I2S],
   ED 168 Sciences Chimiques et Biologiques pour la Santé [CBS2],
   ED 231 Économie Gestion [EDEG],
   ED 459 Sciences Chimiques Balard [SCB],
   ED 461 Droit et science politique [DSP],
   ED 463 Sciences Mouvement Humain [SMH],
   ED 584 GAIA (Biodiversity, Agriculture, Food, Environment, Land, Water). ︎
7. As a reminder, only URs, UMRs and UMIs can apply to this call for proposals. UAR, UExp, US, UPS are not eligible. ︎

Key words : call for projects, PhD, ExposUM, Training, Nexus, Research