Responsible for Translational Programs in Environmental Health/Medicine

REF°260

Type of contract: Full-time and undetermined duration contract (CDI)

Le Laboratoire national de santé (Luxembourg public institution) is recruiting a Responsible for Translational Programs in Environmental Health/Medicine (PhD degree) Ref°260 within the Unit Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence (Department Health Protection) in a full-time position with a permanent contract starting at the earliest convenience.

About the Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS) and the Department Health Protection

The « Laboratoire national de santé » (LNS) is a public institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Health in Luxembourg. As a multidisciplinary institute, the LNS consists of four scientific departments in the fields of medical biology, microbiology, forensic medicine and health protection. In addition, the LNS is also hosting the National Center of Pathology and the National Center of Genetics.

The mission of the LNS is to develop analytical and scientific expertise related to the prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases and to ensure the role of a national control or reference laboratory as well as to carry out forensic tasks. The institution also contributes to the development, harmonization and promotion of technical laboratory methods in close collaboration with local and international analytical laboratories. Within the scope of its responsibilities, the LNS is also leading research and teaching activities in collaboration with partners in Luxembourg and abroad.

With its modern infrastructure in line with the recent evolution of medical and analytical sciences, the LNS is an ambitious laboratory with innovative projects that increase its expertise in public health.

The Department Health Protection supports public health and health care for problems caused or aggravated by the environment, including indoor pollution, the working context, consumer products, food and food contact materials. We fulfill this mission through servicing, expert advice and applied research. The Department historically consisted of two units that are in charge of the laboratory analyses in environmental and occupational health (Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring, Unit head Dr Radu Duca) and in human food (Unit Food Monitoring, Unit head Dr Justine Pincemaille). The Department started setting up a third Unit, Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence, in March 2021. This Unit hosts the medical, epidemiological and toxicological expertise in the domains of environmental and occupational health/medicine with an expanding team of eight members. The Unit supports the new National Service of Environmental Medicine, launched 17 November 2022 at the Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM). It also sets-up and carries out the epidemiological surveys in environmental and occupational health for Luxembourg. Furthermore, the Unit is an active partner in the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC), a 7-year science-policy Research & Innovation programme launched in May 2022 and co-funded by the European Union.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As Responsible for Translational Programs in Environmental Health/Medicine, you report directly to the Unit head Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence. You will:

• Manage the existing translational initiatives, the major needs currently being on:
• the surveys that include human biological monitoring, chemical risk assessment, and exposure measures in air, dust, surfaces and consumer products;
• the collaboration with the Services for Occupational Medicine in Luxembourg;
• Set-up new translational activities to maintain the state-of-the art excellence in the Unit Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring and to strengthen the laboratory activities in the Unit Food Monitoring. The latter is also in charge of the emerging domain of the food contact materials;
• Attract international third-party financing in environmental and occupational health/medicine;
• Organize the structured reporting of technical output, quality output, financing and investment to the Unit head;
• Publish the scientific results in international peer-review journals;
• Present the scientific results at international congresses;
• Supervise post-docs and eventually PhD students;
• Support the Department head in the setting up of the new discipline of Environmental Medicine in Luxembourg, for example by:
• Organizing and holding advanced education courses for the general practitioners and specialist medical doctors in disorders that may be caused or aggravated by the environment or the work;
• Assisting in the teaching and education at the University of Luxembourg. The Unit Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence is in charge of the courses “Introduction to Public Health”, “Health Determinants and Prevention” (including 25 teaching units on environmental health/medicine), and “Quantitative Biomedicine” in the first and second year of the Medical School.
• Participate in the accreditation of the entire process flow for Environmental Medicine/Health. This is done under the supervision of the Department Quality Coordinators.

This list of tasks should not be considered exhaustive. Missions may vary depending on the specific needs of the Unit or the Department.

PROFILE

• PhD degree in bio-engineering, biochemistry, pharmacy, biomedical sciences, or equivalent formation offering profound insights in biological and (patho-)physiological human disease mechanisms;
• Minimum 10 years of experience in environmental and occupational health/medicine;
• Track-record of working in close interaction with laboratory and epidemiology units and of setting up translational initiatives that further enforce the laboratory activities;
• Substantial track-record in attracting international third-party financing in environmental and occupational health/medicine;
• Authorship and (co-)authorship of on average 8-10 international peer-review publications/year;
• Track-record in the supervision of post-doc and PhD students, including the delivery of results within the foreseen time-frames;
• Experience in budget forecasting and operational planning of larger-scale initiatives;
• Leadership experience in teams with mixed professional backgrounds (epidemiology, medicine, nursing, chemical risk assessment);
• Working experience in national public institutes and their functioning, the core business being servicing in patient’s health care and in protecting population’s health;
• Perfect fluency in English (oral and written) is required;
• Working experience in an (partially) accredited professional context, a practical knowledge of the ISO 9001, ISO 17025 and/or ISO 15189 will be considered an asset;
• As French is the administrative language, working knowledge of French (oral and written) will be considered an asset. In case you do not have this level at recruitment, you will be asked to prove working knowledge of French within the one-year trial period.

KEY SKILLS

• Result and client oriented mindset;
• Strong organizational and analytical skills and structured way of working;
• Excellent technical, financial and scientific reporting skills;
• Strong team and networking skills to routinely liaise with different teams and entities of the Department and organization, as well as clients and stakeholders;
• Emotional intelligence to differentiate among the perspectives of varying professional contexts (laboratory, hospital, academia) and ability to realize synergy and results both for the patients and the Luxembourger population;
• Experience in generating the necessary information from the working context to report to and interact with upper management levels and supporting services.

WE OFFER

• A highly competitive salary;
• A dynamic unit in full expansion and developing new activities at request of its stakeholders;
• An international and multidisciplinary environment;
• Continuous training possibilities.

HOW TO APPLY ?

If you are ready to make a real difference in healthcare, please submit your application by sending us your resume and ideally a cover letter outlining your relevant experience.

We thank all applicants for their interest in the Responsible for Translational Programs position at the LNS. However, please note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

At the final stages of the recruitment process, the successful candidate will be asked to provide supporting documentation such as, copies of diplomas and certificates of employment. An official criminal record (bulletin no.3) will also be required for consultation purpose.