Postdoctoral Researcher in Radiolysis of Water and Biomolecules under Accelerated Ion Beams

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien Research Field Physics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 21 Dec 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Dec 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The candidate will carry out experimental studies on the radiolysis of water and on the irradiation of biomolecules (amino acids, peptides, proteins) by accelerated ions of various types and energies.
The main goal of the project is to characterize the effects of high-energy ion fragmentation on the radiolysis of water and biomolecules.
All the activities described will be carried out within the radiochemistry team, in close collaboration with the scientific supervisor and the research engineers of the group.
The project is conducted under ANR funding, in collaboration with the DeSIs group at IPHC, which has an expertise in simulation and with which the candidate will also interact.

• Design, prepare and conduct experimental irradiation campaigns under carbon and helium ion beams at the CNAO hadrontherapy center (Pavia, Italy), at HIMAC (Chiba, Japan), and at the Arronax cyclotron (Nantes).
• Determine the primary radiolytic yields of the reactive species produced by water radiolysis, and their evolution as a function of linear energy transfer and fragmentation.
• Study the degradation of target biomolecules (amino acids, peptides, proteins) induced by the radical and molecular species formed during radiolysis.
• Implement the associated analytical techniques (UV-visible spectroscopy, HPLC-DAD-CAD-fluorescence).
• Analyze the experimental data and compare them with Monte Carlo simulations and, more generally, with data from the literature and from the group.
• Write scientific articles and present results at national and international conferences
• Contribute to the supervision of students (Master's, PhD) involved in the project.

The Hubert Curien Multidisciplinary Institute (IPHC), a joint research unit under the joint supervision of CNRS and the University of Strasbourg (UMR7178), is a multidisciplinary laboratory in which research teams from different scientific cultures (ecology, physiology and ethology, chemistry and subatomic physics) develop very high-level programs based on scientific instrumentation. IPHC is organized into 3 departments and has a total workforce of 393 staff (M/F), including 257 permanent staff (119 researchers and lecturer-researchers and 138 engineers and technicians M/F), 46 fixed-term staff and 102 PhD students (M/F).
The selected candidate will join the IPHC Radiochemistry team, led by Quentin Raffy, which has recognized expertise in radiolysis, chemical dosimetry and the study of reaction mechanisms under charged-particle irradiation, in connection with hadrontherapy and radiobiology issues.
The project will rely on experimental campaigns conducted in collaboration with the CNAO hadrontherapy center (Pavia, Italy), the Arronax cyclotron (Nantes) and, depending on beam availability, the HIMAC center (Chiba, Japan).
The candidate (M/F) will have access to a staff restaurant, partial reimbursement of transportation costs, a works council, the possibility of teleworking one to two days per week for some activities, subject to the agreement of the team manager, and training to adapt to the job.

General, theoretical or disciplinary knowledge

• Hold a PhD in Physical Chemistry, ideally in radiation chemistry or an equivalent field.

Operational skills

• Have a good knowledge of analytical techniques: HPLC, UV-visible/fluorescence spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.
• Experience in experimental radiolysis or photolysis will be a significant asset.
• Knowledge of, or an interest in, radiobiology and biomolecule chemistry would be appreciated.
• Demonstrate autonomy and experimental rigor (GLP).
• Have a good command of written and spoken English at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Radiolysis expertise is desirable, but not strictly required: we're looking for physical chemists eager to explore the interface of chemistry, physics, and biology, and we'll support you in building the rest.