Postdoctoral Researcher

Organisation/Company Université de Strasbourg Department Direction des ressources humaines Research Field Biological sciences » Botany Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 14 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Country France Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time 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

Research project or operation

The BotaniChem project (Unlocking Strasbourg’s Botanical Garden Chemodiversity) aims to characterise and
harness the metabolic diversity of the plant collections at the Strasbourg Botanical Garden (JBS). Although
botanical gardens represent exceptional reservoirs of plant biodiversity, their chemodiversity remains largely
unexplored. This project brings together the expertise in metabolomics and plant metabolism of two teams
from the CNRS Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, led respectively by Emmanuel Gaquerel and Hubert Schaller,
with that of the JBS in the management of botanical collections.

The aim is to analyse the metabolic diversity of a large number of species in the garden using mass
spectrometry-based metabolomics, following standardised procedures. The postdoctoral researcher will be
involved in the selection and sampling of species, the collection and traceability of associated metadata, as
well as the preparation of samples and the establishment of a physical collection of plant material and extracts.
He or she will also contribute to the processing, annotation and analysis of the metabolomic data obtained.The
project will thus establish a reference resource for the study of plant chemodiversity, which can be used to
analyse the distribution and evolution of families of metabolites of interest.

Activities

Description of the research activities :

• Select and collect plant specimens from the Strasbourg Botanical Garden in collaboration with the JBS teams, in accordance with collection and conservation procedures.
• Ensure the traceability of the metadata associated with each specimen (botanical identification, collection conditions, location within the collections).
• Prepare samples (freeze-drying, grinding, extraction) and contribute to the establishment of a physical collection of plant material and extracts.
• Carry out metabolomic analyses using mass spectrometry in partnership with the two research teams involved and the metabolomics platform at the Institute of Molecular Plant Biology
• Process, annotate and analyse metabolomic data using dedicated pipelines (construction of molecular networks, querying spectral databases, in silico annotation, calculation of metabolic diversity indices).
• Contribute to the interpretation of results, particularly regarding the distribution and evolution of families of metabolites of interest.
• Contribute to the scientific dissemination of the project (writing articles, presenting at conferences, communicating results).

Related activities :

• Take part in the project’s scientific meetings and those of the research teams
• Interact with project partners: the two teams at the Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, the institute’s metabolomics platform, and the teams at the Strasbourg Botanical Garden.
• Contribute to the rigorous management and organisation of plant extracts and metabolomic data
• Contribute to the supervision of students where appropriate

Experience required : A recent PhD graduate who defended their thesis less than a year ago, with in-depth
experience in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics gained during their PhD, covering the entire analytical
workflow, from sample preparation to data analysis. A good understanding of plant metabolism is also
desirable.

Skills

• PhD in Plant Biology or Biochemistry, to have been awarded by the start date of 1 December 2026.
• In-depth knowledge of plant metabolism and concepts associated with the study of plant chemo-diversity
• Proficiency in metabolomic approaches using mass spectrometry and dedicated analysis pipelines
• An interest in plant diversity and the promotion of scientific literacy

Operational skills/expertise :

• Experience in the preparation of plant extracts
• Experience in the characterisation of plant metabolites using a metabolomic approach based on high-resolution mass spectrometry
• Proficiency in dedicated metabolomic analysis workflows: construction of molecular networks, querying spectral databases, in silico annotation, calculation of metabolic diversity indices