Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in Environmental Toxicology, Molecular Biology, Computational Biology?
• Excellent opportunity to build technical expertise using systems toxicology approaches
• Join our CSIRO Environment Team for this exciting 3-year postdoctoral opportunity

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

Traditional methods do not reflect “real-world” exposures of contaminants and risk assessment of chemical mixtures remains a major methodological challenge. This project aims to apply the New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) such as multi-omics, non-animal and molecular modelling to predict and manage chemical mixture effects in aquatic environment such as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and microplastics. This will reduce costs and delays and promote adoption and acceptance of these next-generation tools for managing and mitigating risks associated with the co-occurrence of emerging contaminants in the environment.

This project is a unique opportunity for the CERC Fellow to build technical expertise using systems toxicology approaches in addition to the ability to seamlessly integrate across disciplines to deliver novel experimental outputs. The CERC Fellow will get an opportunity to apply multi-omics approaches, reliable high-throughput assays, and computational modelling approaches for assessing mixture toxicity of PFAS and microplastics. 

The CERC Fellow will have the opportunity to work across multiple CSIRO laboratories, in addition to working at collaborator institutions (national and international). The knowledge generated will be a significant addition to the global effort to understand and, critically, combat mixture toxicity of chemicals. This will help broaden the Fellow’s experiences and develop deeper professional networks. The collaborative nature of the project provides an opportunity for the CERC Fellow to become aware of scientific, cultural and organisational structures, enabling them to become a truly cross-disciplinary leader.

Your duties will include:

• Designing and conducting in-vitro and in-vivo bioassays to assess the influence of microplastics on the toxicity of PFAS to ecotox model species. 
• Characterising the combined risks of PFAS and microplastics by applying mechanistic information and computational modelling.
• Demonstrating quantitative Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) for assessing risk of contaminant mixtures in the environment using case studies from this study.  
• Working with international collaborators as and when required.

Location: Adelaide, South Australia

Salary: AU$92k - AU$101k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 91003

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as Environmental Toxicology, Molecular Biology or Computational Biology. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting in-vitro and in-vivo bioassays and applying multi-omics techniques to describe causal linkages from molecular initiating events to adverse outcomes.
• Strong experience in working on complex data sets and conducting computational investigations in the fields of predictive toxicology using ecotox animal models.
• The ability to work effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary, regionally dispersed research team, plus the motivation and discipline to carry out autonomous research.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents and Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

31 January 2023, 11:00pm AEDT