School of Life and Environmental Sciences

• Opportunity to be part of a project involving Microbial Risk Assessment in Leafy Green Salads
• Located at Australian Technology Park Campus, School of Life and Environmental Sciences
• 12 Months Fixed Term, Full-Time, Academic Level A: Base Salary: $73,420 p.a. - $92,682 p.a. plus a generous employer’s contribution to superannuation.

About the opportunity 

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) for Food Safety in the Fresh Produce Industry.

The overarching purpose of the centre is to conduct industry-focused research to develop practical solutions to prevent or minimise microbial food safety risks in fresh produce across the value chain.

The increase in consumption of leafy green salads and raw vegetables has led to increased risk of foodborne illness associated with fresh produce. Pre-harvest food safety risks in leafy greens include contamination of leaf and root surfaces by Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and E. coli. This project aims to understand the effect of local environmental conditions, and on-farm production practices on microbial survival during the pre-harvest stages in the supply chain. This information will be used to develop and refine a decision support tool based on QMRA, for reducing microbial risk in the Australian leafy greens market. The decision support tool will be used for informing quality assurance certification schemes and growers on managing risks in the leafy green food industry.

The successful candidate will participate in the above research program developing QMRA models for our industry partners. The successful candidate will design and conduct research trials, analyse the results and write up the results in a suitable format for publication. The candidate will also assist with supervision of PhD, Masters and Honours student. 

About you

The University values courage and creativity; openness and engagement; inclusion and diversity; and respect and integrity. As such, we see the importance in recruiting talent aligned to these values in the pursuit of research excellence and are seeking to recruit for a Post doctorate Postdoctoral Research Associate in Microbial Risk Assessment role within the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, who has:

• BSc (Honours) or equivalent and PhD in Microbiology or closely-related discipline. (Microbial Risk Analysis)
• Significant experience in laboratory based microbiology and molecular techniques.
• Sound knowledge, development and use of microbial risk assessment models

About us

The Faculty of Science is one of six faculties operating within the University and includes the Schools of

Chemistry, Geosciences, History and Philosophy of Science, Life and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Psychology, and the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. The Faculty stewards a range of research entities including the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, and partners with University-wide research centres including the Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), the Brain and Mind Centre (BMC) and the University of Sydney Nano Institute.

Since our inception 160 years ago, the University of Sydney has led to improve the world around us. We believe in education for all and that effective leadership makes lives better. These same values are reflected in our approach to diversity and inclusion, and underpin our long-term strategy for growth. We’re Australia's first university and have an outstanding global reputation for academic and research excellence. Across our campuses, we employ over 6000 academic and non-academic staff who support over 60,000 students.

We are undergoing significant transformative change which brings opportunity for innovation, progressive thinking, breaking with convention, challenging the status quo, and improving the world around us.

How to apply

For more information on the position and University, please view the candidate information pack available from the job’s listing on the University of Sydney careers website.

All applications must be submitted via the University of Sydney careers website. Visit sydney.edu.au/recruitment and search by the reference number 314/0219F to apply.

Closing date: 11:30pm, 31 March 2019 (Sydney Time)

The University of Sydney is committed to diversity and social inclusion. Applications from people of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; equity target groups including women, people with disabilities, people who identify as LGBTIQ; and people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are encouraged.

© The University of Sydney

The University reserves the right not to proceed with any appointment.