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PostDoc or senior scientist (f/m/x): Potential of New Approach Methods to delineate between developmental and adult neurotoxicity hazard

The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

The job

We seek to hire a postdoctoral or senior scientist to contribute to a new Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) project. Under the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulation (EC) 1272/2008, the EU’s legal framework for classifying and communicating chemical hazards, neurotoxicity does not have a dedicated hazard class. Because New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) represent novel opportunities for mechanistic and predictive testing, the European Commission is considering the introduction of new hazard classes. This PARC project will investigate whether NAMs can reliably detect, and differentiate between, DNT and ANT hazards. The candidate will contribute to the development of a hypothesis that outlines the mechanistic distinction between DNT and ANT, in collaboration with PARC colleagues. The candidate lead efforts to computationally obtain, clean, and analyze available NAM-based ANT and DNT data, including results from the US EPA CompTox and Tox21 databases, and the wider literature, to qualitatively and quantitatively examine the hypothesis. The candidate will identify chemicals for specific cases where available data is not sufficient, and new experimental data will be generated by PARC colleagues and analyzed and synthesized by the candidate.

Your tasks

• Literature synthesis
• Computational extraction, cleaning, analysis, visualization, and integration of NAM-based DNT and ANT data
• Presentation of work in meetings and conferences, preparation of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals
• Mentorship of junior scientists

We offer

• The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
• The chance to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a variety of perspectives
• Firstclass integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
• Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
• Flexible working hours and a wide range of options for balancing work and care responsibilities through our family office
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the 'International Office'
• Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Germany Job Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity

Your profile

• Doctoral or postdoctoral experience in computational toxicology, ideally with a strong background in neuroscience or neurotoxicology. Candidates with expertise in computer science who are interested in the topic are also encouraged to apply.
• Expertise in R or a comparable coding language, GitHub for transparent documentation and version control, and modification of diverse datasets to enable unified concentration response modeling.
• Excellent spoken and written command of English. This is a senior scientist position. Previous mentorship experience is required.

Place of work

Leipzig

Working time

100%

Contract limitations

limited contract / 3 years

Salary

Remuneration according to the TVöD public-sector up to pay grade 13 including attractive public-sector social security benefits.

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Prof. Dr. Tamara Tal
Email: tamara.tal@ufz.de
Tel.: +49 341 6025 1524

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Application deadline: 08.02.2026

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.