Recruitment of researchers for ‘Development of an ecological risk assessment technology for river and lake water management in Korea based on indigenous species’ at Ghent University Global Campus
1. Job position:
Researchers participating in ‘Development of an ecological risk assessment technology for river and lake water management in Korea based on indigenous species’
Description:
This project aims to develop a biological assessment technology for river and lake water quality based on indigenous species (producers/consumers/decomposers) representing each trophic level of an aquatic ecosystem in Korea.
The project objectives are as follows:
1) To establish standard protocols for acclimation/introducing/sustaining test organism culture and develop quality assurance (QA)/ quality check (QC) evaluation techniques.
2) To select endpoints (at molecular, physiological, ecological, and life history stages) that are suitable for evaluating each test species, develop acute (considering more than eight species) and chronic (considering more than three species, including chronic toxicity tests for Daphnia magna) tests that comply with the standards given by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and publish the newly developed guidelines in Korean and English.
3) To test the toxicity of 110 species of hazardous substances in aquatic ecosystems (90 species of new hazardous substances/ 20 novel hazardous substances), compile data on the taxonomic names of test organisms, their habitats, endpoints, exposure times, test conditions, individual toxicity indicators (no observed effect concentration, lowest observed effect concentration, 10% and 50% effective concentrations, that is EC10 and EC50, and references), and construct a Korean database (DB) library similar to the Ecotoxicology Database of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), and European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) in Belgium.
4) To conduct ecological risk assessment and monitor river and lake water (including a control site and three pollution gradient areas), which are selected considering regional characteristics and species vulnerability, for more than six months, and to finalize the ecological risk assessment system and provide complete the guidelines.
5) To establish aquatic ecological risk management system based on the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) and percentage weighted points calculated by SSD modeling and integrated toxicity classification.
6) To propose measures for policy-making and execution to manage water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
7) To standardize the developed aquatic bioassays based on Korean native species (11 KS, 2 ISO proposals).
2. Duties and Responsibilities:
Development of standard aquatic biological assessment techniques (including QA/QC assessment techniques) and guidelines
Field investigation and research
Writing research papers and reports
Project-related administrative work
3. Number of available positions: 1 (Relevant experience preferred)
4. Eligibility of Applicants:
PhD holder in Aquatic toxicology, Biology, Biotechnology, Environmental technology
Age: No limit
- Language: Working fluency in English (Korean skill is not compulsory but an extra points)
- Note: If the candidate is coming from oversea to Korea, 3-years of working experiences is required for acquiring the working visa; if the oversea candidate is graduated from Korean University, the requirement for working experience could be waived.
5. Preference criterion: Persons with a PhD or more than 5 years of experience in the relevant field
6. Working Conditions:
- Working type: Full-time researchers participating in the Technology Development Project (From Mar 2023 ~ Dec 2023; the contract is renewable annually upon the performance evaluation; 3-month probation)
- Gross salary: 4 million Korean Won per month(tax included)
- Location: Ghent University Global Campus, 119-5, Songdomunhwa-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea
7. Guidance for application period/ Procedure:
- Application period: From Feb. 06, 2023 To Mar. 06, 2023 until 18:00
- Required to submit documents: Cover letter, CV, Degree certificate, and transcript
- How to Apply: By E-mail reception, please send email to –Hojun.Lee@ugent.be (Direct visits or post not available), please name the E-mail title as KEITI-Your Name.
8. Other inquiries: Hojun.Lee@ugent.be