PhD position in
Plant-based hydrogels and emulgels: Impact of correlation length on sensory perception
Candidates profile
- MSc or equivalent in food sciences or in physics or physical chemistry of soft matter science or with a solid training in rheological and structural investigations of soft materials or in sensory studies. A degree with distinction is a plus.
- Scientific interest, dedication to research and career goal to work in food or soft matter sciences (academia or research center), or food industry.
- Appreciation for interdisciplinarity and proactive drive to collaborate across fields
- Proficiency in English, good communication skill and social competence
Hiring institution: CNRS Le Mans (France) and CSIC Valencia (Spain), the work is a joint thesis supervision split in two between France and Spain
Enrolment in a doctoral programme of ED3MG (France) (https://ed-3mg.doctorat-paysdelaloire.fr/)+ EDOCTORADO UPV (Spain) (https://www.upv.es/entidades/edoctorado/en/home/)
Supervision:
- Main supervisors: Christophe Chassenieux (France) and Amparo Tarrega (Spain)
- Co-supervisor(s): Taco Nicolai (France) and Laura Laguna (Spain)
Objectives:
- The project is a joint thesis supervision between France and Spain. Its main objective is to design and formulate hydrogels and emulgels based on plant-based ingredients whose textures (structural and mechanical properties) will be varied in order to assess its influence on its sensory perception. The first model formulations will only consider plant proteins derived from rapeseed and will be compared with more standards ones based on dairy proteins keeping structural properties the same for a sake of comparison. Then the formulations will be gradually complexified by adding starches with varying origin and composition. Last, we will consider raw flour of varying sources to get closer to real food. Sensorial perception (flavour and texture) will be assessed using a range of implicit and explicit methodology which required respectively trained or naïve panellists. In the latter case, we will focus on implicit biometric methods (pupil dilation, heart beat, galvanic skin response, neural response).
Expected results:
- Formulation of hydrogels and emulgels with varying correlation lengths using plant-based ingredients.
- Investigation of their structural and mechanical properties at low and high deformation.
- Assess the influence of the correlation length of plant-based hydrogels and emulgels on the flavour and texture sensations perceived during consumption.
- Modelling the relationship between sensory properties and the implicit and explicit response of consumers response
Planned secondments
- Bel, Dr Peggy Thomar, 2 months, mechanical study of the hydrogels and emulgels under strong deformation.
Hosting lab and working environment: IMMM le Mans (France) (https://immm.univ-lemans.fr/fr/index.html) the first 18th months, IATA Valencia (Spain) (http://www.iata.csic.es/) the last 18th months
Type of recruitment: Full-time exclusive employment contract including full social security coverage in each country of the joint supervision.
Foreseen start date: 1st of October 2025
Duration: 36 months
Hours per week: 38.5 hours/week (France) / 37.50 (Spain)
Estimated monthly gross salary: 3 024 € for France and 2865 € per month in Spain (Including living and mobility allowances)
Application procedure: Candidates must submit their application via: the ESM website, and the CNRS job portal
Application deadline: 5th of June 2025
Contact for more information: Christophe Chassenieux IMMM@CNRS (christophe.chassenieux@univ-lemans.fr) and Amparo Tarrega IATA@CSIC ( atarrega@iata.csic.es)