项目介绍

2024年11月5日

Function

Are you a curious and enthusiastic person? Do you enjoy working with children in a clinical environment? Are you fluent in Dutch? Will you rise to the challenge of working in an interdisciplinary context? Then this PhD vacancy may be of interest to you!

We, Wageningen University and Research, have an opening to conduct research on the effect of nutrition on the gut-microbiome, brain and behavior of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). As a PhD student you will be managing a controlled dietary intervention trial in children with ADHD. This trial will contain many measurements including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as lab measurements of stool, blood and urine samples. This project is a collaboration between Wageningen Food Safety Research and the Laboratory of Microbiology of Wageningen University.

What will you be doing?
The PhD will comprise of:

• piloting and optimizing the test procedures;
• coordinating and managing the clinical trial, including recruitment and participant contact;
• analysis and interpretation of MRI, microbiome and metabolomics data;
• contributing to the writing of peer-reviewed manuscripts on the project results;
• presenting findings to key project stakeholders and the scientific community.

Since this project covers the topics of nutrition and health, neuroscience, bioinformatics and microbiology this offers the opportunity to learn many new things and the freedom to choose to focus on one of these areas. 

The work is part of the 2^ndBRAIN study on the effect of a few-foods diet in children with ADHD. Previous studies have shown promising effects of a few-foods diet, which led to significant improvements in ADHD symptoms in 33-64% of children. However, following a few-foods diet and the subsequent food reintroduction phase requires an enormous effort of both the child and parents, limiting its applicability as an approach to treat ADHD. Therefore, we aim to assess the effects of an few-foods diet in children with ADHD on behavioral symptoms, brain activation, and the microbiome-gut-brain axis. The goal of the study is to potentially refine this approach and more accurately identify the children who could benefit from it. More info about the previous project can be found HERE. This website shows the context and starting point of the 2^nd BRAIN study.

Function Requirements

You have a MSc in Nutrition and Health, Bioinformatics, Data Science for Food and Health, Neuroscience, or another field relevant for this project.

• you have a background or demonstrable interest in nutrition;
• you have the ability to work effectively with children, including strong communication and interpersonal skills suitable for engaging with young participants in a clinical trial setting;
• you have good planning and organizational skills.

As you will be working with children taking part in a clinical trial we expect to have excellent interpersonal communication skills in Dutch.

For this position your command of the English language is expected to be at C1 level. Sometimes it is necessary to submit an internationally recognised Certificate of Proficiency in the English Language. More information can be found here.

Contactinformation

For more information about this position, please contact dr. Floor van Meer, researcher, by email: floor.vanmeer@wur.nl.

For more information about the procedure, please contact Rutger Voorrips, Recruiter, by phone: +31 317480571 or by e-mail: rutger.voorrips@wur.nl.