Organisation/Company UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA Department Vicerrectorado de Investigación e Ciencia Aberta Research Field Pharmacological sciences Chemistry Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 9 Dec 2026
- 00:00 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe
- MSCA Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number 101312450 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No Offer Description This position forms part of the FAroGels research program on food-grade, bio-based, and biodegradable aerogels and their application in sustainable food systems. The selected candidate will be employed by University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and will be required to enroll as a PhD student at USC, in accordance with the relevant admission and enrolment requirements. The doctoral project will focus onScalable Sterilization of Aerogel Carriers for Bioactive Food. DC10 addresses a major bottleneck for translating FAroGels materials into real food and nutraceutical applications: sterilising or controlling the microbial load of aerogels without damaging their structure or functionality. Conventional methods (autoclaving, dry heat, irradiation) often collapse pores, degrade bioactives or alter surface chemistry. The project will focus on design sterilisation workflows tailored to biopolymer aerogels, exploring low-temperature, solvent-assisted, gas-phase and controlled-humidity routes that ensure microbiological safety while preserving morphology, porosity and functional performance. The PhD candidate will investigate the sterilisation-structure-function relationships that will support integration of aerogels into safe,



industry-ready systems, ensuring structural stability, bioactivity retention and microbiological safety benchmarks under relevant storage conditions. The sterilization protocols will be developed, optimized and validated for food
- and nutraceutical-grade aerogels based on the results obtained using different analytical methods, including microbial kill assays, NMR/FTIR analysis, porosity and mechanical stability tests, and bioactive-retention studies. The research will contribute to provide the final step needed to bring FAroGels materials (bioactive, sensory systems, packaging solutions) to market by ensuring that they can be sterilised at scale without losing performance and that its implementation within industry-ready workflow guidelines enabling safe integration is feasible. The position will involve laboratory-based research, data analysis, scientific communication and close collaboration with other FAroGels Doctoral Candidates, supervisors and partner organizations. Educational Background : Master’s degree (or equivalent) in relevant fields, e.g., pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, materials science, food science and technology, chemical engineering, biochemistry or biotechnology.

Skills:
Strong laboratory and analytical skills in biomedical technology and/or microbiology. Languages : Proficiency in English (written and spoken) is required.



Strong motivation to pursue doctoral research in an international and interdisciplinary environment. Ability to work independently while contributing effectively to collaborative research activities. Good organization, communication and problem-solving skills. Willingness to travel for planned secondments, network meetings and training activities. Commitment to responsible research conduct, inclusion, collegiality and professional development. This position is funded by the FAroGels MSCA Doctoral Network (HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01, Grant Agreement No. 101312450). The salary is based on the following monthly MSCA allowances: Living allowance: EUR 4,010, adjusted by the country correction coefficient of the country of the recruiting organisation to ensure equal treatment and comparable purchasing power for all researchers. Mobility allowance: EUR 710, contributing to mobility-related costs such as relocation and travel. Family allowance (if applicable): EUR 660, paid for the months in which the Doctoral Candidate has a family during the project, including where family obligations arise after recruitment. ‘Family’ means persons linked to the researcher by marriage (or a relationship with equivalent status recognised by the legislation of the country where it was formalised) or dependent children actually being maintained by the researcher. The allowance is paid in accordance with the rules of the recruiting organisation, and supporting documents may be requested. Eligibility criteria Applicants of any nationality are welcome to apply. At the date of recruitment, applicants must meet the following MSCA Doctoral Network

requirements:
Doctoral candidate status: Applicants must not already hold a doctoral degree. Applicants who have s

📌 Scalable Sterilization of Aerogel Carriers for Bioactive Food (Madrid)
🏢 Universidade De Santiago De Compostela
📍 Madrid