Senior Chemical Risk Assessor

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Type of contract: Full-time and determined duration contract (CDD)

The Laboratoire national de santé (Luxembourg public institution) is recruiting a senior chemical risk assessor with PhD degree for the service "Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence" (MEDI, Department Health Protection) in a full time position (40h/week) with a contract of fixed-term duration (2 years) starting at the earliest convenience. The senior chemical risk assessor will be involved in the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC program).

About the Laboratoire national de santé

The LNS is a major player in Luxembourg's healthcare sector, serving the country's patients, doctors and hospitals. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Social Security, the LNS is a multidisciplinary public institution organized around six diagnostic departments, two of which are designated as national diagnostic centers for human genetics and pathology respectively.

The LNS employs around 400 highly qualified staff with diverse backgrounds. The main purpose of the LNS is to develop analytical activities and scientific expertise relating to the prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of human diseases; to act as a national control or reference laboratory; and to carry out forensic missions. The LNS also collaborates with the University of Luxembourg and other biomedical research institutions, both nationally and internationally, on research and teaching activities.

In particular, in the field of diagnostics, the LNS covers the following fields of application: medical biology, microbiology, forensic medicine, environmental medicine, morphological and molecular pathology, and clinical genetics, as well as sequencing for rare diseases, oncology and pathogens.

About the Health Protection Department

The Department of Health Protection supports public health and health care for problems caused or aggravated by the environment, including indoor pollution, occupational context, and consumer products. We fulfill this mission through servicing including expert advice, through education and applied research. Our main stakeholders are the hospitals, the ministries and the services for occupational medicine in Luxembourg. The Service "Medical Expertise and Data Intelligence (MEDI)" hosts the medical, epidemiological and toxicological expertise in the domains of environmental and occupational health/medicine with an expanding team of nine members. The Service 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 public health surveys in environmental and occupational health for Luxembourg. Furthermore, the Service is an active partner in the PARC program. The Service "Environmental Hygiene and Human Biological Monitoring (ENVIROH)", also part of the Health Protection Department, hosts the laboratory expertise. This Service carries out laboratory analyses - chemical and microbiological - in dust, air, and surface samples (ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation). In parallel, this Service analyses the concentrations of substances or their metabolites directly in human medical samples, for example blood, urine, hair. The Service measures not only human biomarkers of exposure (ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO accreditation), but is expanding its portfolio of human biomarkers of effect relevant in the pathways of disease development and progression. A departmental administrative team and a departmental quality coordination team also support the Services and the Department head.

About the PARC program

PARC (the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals) is a 7-year science-policy Research & Innovation program that was launched in May 2022 and is co-funded by the European Union. PARC aims to develop next-generation chemical risk assessment to protect human health and the environment and to support the EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and the European Green Deal s "Zero pollution" ambition with new data, knowledge, methods and tools, expertise and networks. The program involves 200 partners from 28 countries and the EU, including national and EU agencies as well as affiliated research organisations working in environmental, occupational and/or public health.

At a national level, LNS is a key partner in several work packages, in particular human biomonitoring (HBM) and exposure carrying out human epidemiological and indoor exposure studies in the general and occupational populations. Luxembourg will participate in four epidemiological surveys: (i) a general population survey; (ii) an occupational survey targeting healthcare workers; (iii) an occupational survey for waste management workers; and (iv) an early-life study on chemical exposure to persistent organic pollutants (including PFAS) in breast milk. For the evaluation of the risks and health impact, health-based guidance values and indoor air guideline values need to be derived epidemiologically or toxicologically.

Responsabilities

As experienced human health chemical risk assessor working on the PARC program, you will report directly to the Senior Toxicologist and Risk Assessor of the MEDI Service. Specifically, your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the project on derivation of health-based indoor air guideline values within the PARC program with contribution of various European partners, to ensure scientific execution, milestones and deliverables, as well as managing technical reporting and other related tasks
• Development of a suitable methodology for the derivation of indoor air guideline values in alignment with regulatory methods and guidelines,)
• Derivation of health-based indoor guideline values for indoor air pollutants, including Volatile Organic Compounds and emerging substances,
• Derivation of health-based human biomonitoring (HBM) guidance values based on toxicological and/or epidemiological data for prioritized substances to be measured in PARC HBM surveys. This will include an evaluation of PFAS compounds in collaboration with the epidemiologists of the MEDI service and European partners,
• Conducting human health risk assessments based human biomonitoring data and indoor exposure data for the general population and workers as obtained in the national context and science-policy initiatives including the previous EU partnership on HBM (HBM4EU) and PARC,
• Use advanced human health exposure and risk assessment models, in particular mixture risk assessment with the Monte Carlo Risk Assessment platform (MCRA),
• Providing support to the MEDI service in setting up and conducting the national exposure monitoring surveys in the scope of PARC, as detailed above, e.g. supporting the development of protocols and questionnaires, and prioritization of exposure and effect biomarkers,
• Publishing in international peer-reviewed journals and presenting results at international conferences,
• Participating in various working groups and meetings within PARC related to indoor exposure, chemical risk assessment, and health impacts.

This list of tasks should not be considered exhaustive. Missions may vary depending on the specific needs of the Department, the MEDI service, and the PARC program.

Profile

• Sc., PhD or equivalent in toxicology, chemistry, bioengineering, veterinarian or pharmacy,
• Related post-graduate trainings on toxicology and chemical risk assessment, ERT (European Registered Toxicologist) certification, and having a PhD is considered a strong asset,
• Proven track record in human health risk assessment in the regulatory context, in particular experience in hazard characterization and derivation of health-based reference values (such as REACH DNELs),
• Sound understanding of regulatory and technical requirements for conducting risk assessments under specific regulatory programs,
• Experience in chemical risk and exposure assessment based on monitoring data including human biomonitoring,
• Proven track in project management and collaboration in international consortia,
• Full professional proficiency in English language (oral and written) is required and fluency in French and/or German (oral and written) will be considered an asset.

Key skills

• Strong organizational and analytical skills and structured way of working
• Strong writing skills for scientific journals and technical reports
• Excellent team working, networking and communication skills
• Result and client-oriented mindset
• Ability to generate the necessary information from the working context to report to and interact with upper management levels and supporting services

If you meet the above profile and wish to apply, please submit your application (CV and Cover letter) via Your application will be treated confidentiality.

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.