Call for Proposals: ExposUM FELLOWSHIPS 2024

[Call for Proposals] - Published on January 18, 2024 in Doctoral and HDR Training, Flagship Projects

ExposUM is an initiative of the University of Montpellier and its partners¹ aimed at establishing a leading, cross-disciplinary, off-campus institute for the study, education, and science-society interfaces related to the environmental determinants of human health. As a recipient of the ExcellenceS (PIA4) call for proposals and supported by the Occitanie Region, ExposUM is receiving 46.4 million euros in funding for the period 2022–2030.

Background & Purpose of the Call for Proposals

The exposome refers to the totality of lifelong exposures to environmental and social factors whose effects influence human health by causing, promoting, modulating, or preventing diseases, whether communicable or not. In this sense, it is the environmental counterpart to the genome, with which it interacts throughout an individual’s lifetime.

The Research Division Research the ExposUM Institute aims to support and accelerate the acquisition of primary knowledge in an interdisciplinary, coordinated, and integrated manner across the fields of exposome research within the four pillars:

1. Strengthen the monitoring of environmental exposures,
2. To deepen our understanding of the ecology of hosts, pathogens, reservoirs, and vectors ( One Health approach),
3. To improve our fundamental understanding of the biological mechanisms that may be modulated by the exposome,
4. Study the consequences for human health.

Data science serves as a bridge connecting these pillars—both methodologically and analytically—and in terms of leveraging the results. A second bridge, consisting of the study and development of new exposure control strategies, complements this framework, which is linked to the “Interfaces” and “Training” pillars.

To this end, the ExposUM Institute is offering two research fellowship programs , called ExposUM Fellowships, for the start of the 2024 academic year . These programs complement the regular call for research proposals and are part of the I-SITE MUSE outreach program.

The ExposUM Fellowships program supports efforts to strengthen and develop local expertise and the site’s scientific potential in the Institute’s areas of focus.

Calendar

• Publication of the ExposUM Fellowshipscall for applications: January 19, 2024.
• Deadline for applications: April 1, 2024.
• Evaluation and selection of applications: sometime in April 2024.
• Results will be announced in May 2024.
• Start date: September through November 2024.

Funding Terms

These two-year grants are renewable once for an additional two years. They cover, where applicable, the recipients’ salaries as well as an operating budget of 200 k€ per year² including the salary costs associated with hiring at least one postdoctoral fellow (employer’s total cost per person starting at 46 k€/year, adjusted based on experience and expertise) and the remainder allocated to other project expenses (hiring an engineer or technician³, operating and equipment costs), contributing to the implementation of an original research project on the exposome.

Eligibility

We are seeking Professors and recognized researchers and Professors who wish to join one of the research units within the ExposUM Institute to carry out ambitious and original research projects.

Eligible applicants include all PhD holders whoare faculty members or researchers currently working off-site, whether on a non-tenure-track or tenured basis (with adjustments to teaching duties potentially covered by the project budget).

Nationality and country of residence are not eligibility criteria.

The candidate may choose the affiliated laboratory (a research unit of the ExposUM consortium, whether or not it is jointly supervised by the University of Montpellier); the candidate must identify this laboratory at the time of application, with the approval of the laboratory’s management (see below).

The research project must fall within the field of the exposome, namely the study of environmental determinants of human health in the broadest sense.

Application Requirements

Applications will be evaluated in a single stage based on an application package, written in French or English, which must include:

• a letter of support from the management of the host laboratory confirming the acceptance of the applicant, outlining the project’s significance and how it fits into the unit’s long-term development plan, and addressing the potential for the position and the team to continue beyond the project’s completion: 2 pages maximum,

• a candidate profile including a complete resume and a statement demonstrating the ability to develop an original research topic and, potentially, to lead a promising young team (e.g., ATIP-Avenir), the potential to achieve international recognition (e.g., ERC Starting Grant), the ability to lead a transformative project, and the candidate’s career prospects: 3 pages maximum,

• a description of the research project (state of the art, timeline, potential impacts), a proposed schedule, and a projected budget (including any other funding already available or expected): 7 pages maximum,

• For non-tenured candidates in France, a commitment to apply for competitive exams for positions as teacher-researchers or tenured researchers.

These four items must be combined in this order (no template is provided) into a single PDF file named EUMF_LastNameFirstName.pdf and sent by email with [Fellowship Application] in the subject line by April 1, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. (UTC+2).

Evaluation

The evaluation and selection of applications will be carried out by the Scientific and Strategic Orientation Council (SSOC) of the ExposUM Institute, on the basis of the quality and scientific potential of the applicant and the project, the appropriateness of the project with the themes of the Institute and the coherence of the project with the strategy of the partners of the consortium, with the goal of reinforcing attractiveness and the scientific influence on an international level.

Applications that demonstrate one or more of the following qualities will be given preference, provided they are of equivalent scientific merit:

• a highly interdisciplinary project (especially if it includes a humanities and social sciences component);
• the establishment of new partnerships (academic or otherwise);
• research focused on One Health, Global Health, and the Global South.

Commitments

Selected candidates agree to:

• begin their research activities at the designated research unit between September and November 2024;
• comply with the Nagoya Protocol, where applicable;
• include the logos of the University of Montpellier, France 2030, the ExposUM Institute, and the Occitanie Region in all documents related to the implementation of the project;
• provide an annual report on the activities carried out at the Institute;
• For non-tenured awardees, apply for competitive selection processes for faculty positions or tenured research positions.

Results

1. CIRAD, CNRS, Ifremer, INRAe, Inria, Inserm, IRD, ENSCM, Institut Agro, Montpellier University Hospital, ICM, Occitanie Region. ↩︎
2. Funded by the ANR and the Occitanie Region. ↩︎
3. Hired as part of the awardee’s research project, in accordance with the pay scales in effect at the University of Montpellier. ↩︎

Keywords: Call for Proposals, Doctorate, Environment, I-SITE, Research