The University of Navarra (UNAV) is a non-profit private university founded in 1952 based in Pamplona, Spain. It confers 37 official degrees (14 are double degree) and administers 43 master’s programs, including 19 doctoral programs, through 16 faculties and Schools, 2 superior colleges, the IESE Business School and its 5 comprehensive Research Centres: CCUN (Cancer Centre Clínica Universidad de Navarra), BIOMA (Biodiversity and Environment Institute) and DATAI (Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence), ICS (INSTITUTE FOR CULTURE AND SOCIETY and CIN (Centre for Nutrition Research).

UNAV has more than 13.500 students in 7 campuses: Pamplona, San Sebastian, Madrid, Barcelona, New York, Munich and Saö Paulo with a wide network of international universities and research centres.

UNAV has a sound track record in participating in European Research Programs. The university has participated in 241 European projects from FP4 to Horizon Europe, including LIFE, ERASMUS+ and INTERREG Programs; of which 28 projects (11,6%) were coordinated by the university. The University also counts with a thorough experience in MSCA and ERC grants with over 31 signed grants. (5 MSCA in the 2024 call)

UNAV been awarded with the HR Excellence in Research quality seal (HRS4R) that guarantees the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. 

The University of Navarra will provide training to the fellow in proposal preparation, including individual info sessions to explain the call and address any questions.

Offer description

The BIOMA Institute for Biodiversity and the Environment of the University of Navarra invites outstanding postdoctoral candidates passionate about environmental science to join us in a pioneering MSCA-PF 2025 project: Reconstructing the Environmental History of Microplastic Pollution.

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems worldwide are increasingly contaminated by microplastics, yet the temporal evolution, polymer composition over time, and source attribution remain poorly understood. We propose to address these critical gaps by chronologically tracing microplastic concentrations and polymer types across different environments. Key research questions include: How have microplastic concentrations in freshwater and atmospheric compartments changed over the past decades? Which polymer classes dominated each historical period, and what are their associated sources? When did microplastics first become detectable in various environmental matrices?

To answer these questions, the candidate will:

-Collect and date sediment cores from freshwater reservoirs, using the ²¹⁰Pb dating technique (covering up to ~100 years), to reconstruct long-term microplastic deposition trends and historical shifts in polymer composition.;

-Analyze sediment cores from remote natural lakes to investigate atmospheric-driven microplastic fluxes;

-Process archived Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) filter samples to examine historical airborne microplastic presence, abundance, and polymer diversity.

This multidisciplinary approach leverages BIOMA’s state‑of‑the‑art analytical capabilities, including the Agilent 8700 LDIR system for high-resolution chemical identification. Moreover, the successful candidate will engage in secondments at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) laboratories in Monaco, accessing complementary instrumentation (alpha and gamma spectrometry, Raman, micro‑FTIR, …) for rigorous dating and polymer analysis.

The fellow will join BIOMA’s interdisciplinary research environment, benefiting from expert supervision, cutting-edge infrastructure, tailored training, and international collaboration opportunities for career development.

Key words

Microplastic; Sediment cores; Air pollution; Polymers identification; Environmental monitoring; Emerging contaminants

Research Field 

Environmental pollution/ Microplastic pollution

REQUIREMENTS OF THE CANDIDATE

Main research field

Environmental Sciences / Analytical chemistry/ Applied physics

Excellent

Specific requirements

I encourage you to collaboratively develop a project where your experience complements ours, advancing the understanding of the historical microplastics pollution. Let’s explore new perspectives together and push the boundaries of scientific discovery

Language

• English – Excellent (working language for the project, reports and scientific dissemination)
• Spanish – Good (desirable but not mandatory, for fieldwork and stakeholder engagement)

Required research Experience

We are seeking a candidate (PhD) with a solid background in environmental analysis and microplastic detection methods, motivated to lead an innovative, interdisciplinary research project with significant environmental and societal relevance.

Eligibility

• No more than 8 years of full research work since the date of PhD defence at date 2025 September 10.
• The candidate must not have lived or worked in Spain more than 12 months in the last 36 months calculating from 2025 September 10th.

Applications: documents to be submitted and deadlines

Applicants should submit the following documents:

• A short CV with academic records and a publication list
• Motivation letter (max. 1 page).