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Institution Name: 
INRA
Type of institution: 
University
Contact person: 
Dr Véronique Santé-Lhoutellier
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France
Job description: 

We invite applications for a post-doc position at the laboratories of quality of animal products (QuaPA) and Human Nutrition (UNH) in Clermont Ferrand, France, within the French National Research Institute.

In vitro dynamic approach of disintegration and digestion of starch-gluten complex to understand the sensibility to gluten.

At the base of human nutrition, most of the wheat flour produced is used for the production of bakery products. Wheat cereals contain water-insoluble reserve proteins (gliadins and glutenins), which organize with starch grains into a complex macromolecule network during pulping. This network gives essential mechanical properties (elasticity, viscosity ...) to the manufacture of food (bread, pasta ...). Although this gluten is necessary to elaborate food products with varied textures and structures, it is also recognized as responsible for the celiac disease and allergy, more and more frequent in the man. It would also be responsible for non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), which is a less well-described and poorly defined food disorder, and for which the mechanisms involved are unknown. No biomarker of the SGNC has yet been identified.
The general hypothesis of the project is based on the idea that non-celiac gluten sensitivity (SGNC) could be triggered by resistance to digestion of the protein-starch complex. The postdoctoral researcher will have to implement experiments allowing him to analyze the destructuration of the starch-gluten complex during the oral and intestinal digestion stages and to understand the mechanisms involved in its digestion.
The destructuration of the complex will be studied in vitro during the progression of the alimentary bolus in the digestive tract at the macrostructural scale (physical properties of the bread bolus after artificial mastication), microstructural (NMR imaging, IVIA platform) and molecular (biochemical and structural analyzes of the products of the digestion and molecular interactions formed). Qualitative and quantitative kinetic analysis of the products of digestion coupled with in silico structure analyzes should make it possible to conclude on the digestibility of the bread according to the variety of wheat used and the type of baking process used (formulation / cooking). This integrated analysis could also be used to propose potential biomarker candidates involved in the SGNC.

Required Knowledge: 

Profile of the candidate : PhD in Food Science, Biochemistry, Nutrition. Skills in protein and peptide analysis, proteomic, peptidomic would be appreciated.
Applicants should be fluent in speaking and writing English.
Duration : 24 months, starting between November 2018 and January 2019. Possible extension for a third year.
Gross monthly salary : ~ 2400 €

To apply : To apply, please send (before October 31, 2018) the following application materials by e-mail to Dr Véronique Santé-Lhoutellier (veronique.sante-lhoutellier@inra.fr) and Dr Marie-Agnès Peyron (marie-agnes.peyron@inra.fr) : cover letter discussing your key qualifications, research interest, and motivations for this position; curriculum vitae; most significant publications and names of 3 references.

The posting will remain open until a suitable candidate has been identified. Initial review of applications will occur in november, 2018.

Expiration date: 
Wednesday, 31. October 2018
Required Language(s): 
English
French