PhD position : Selective gas sensors platform for premature diagnostic of lung cancer (CDD : 36[...]

PhD position : Selective gas sensors platform for premature diagnostic of lung cancer (CDD : 36 months)

JOB ENVIRONMENT:

Institut Mines-Télécom is the leading public group of engineering and management Grandes Écoles in France. Consisting of eight public graduate Grandes Écoles and two subsidiary graduate schools, Institut Mines-Télécom leads and develops a rich ecosystem of partner schools, economic, academic and institutional partners, key players in education, research and economic development.

Mines Saint-Étienne, a graduate school of the Institut Mines-Télécom, is responsible for education, research, innovation, industrial transfer and scientific culture dissemination. With 2,500 students, 500 staff and a budget of €50m, it has 3 campuses dedicated to the industry of the future, health and well-being, and digital sovereignty and microelectronics. It is ranked in the top 15 graduate engineering schools in France and the top 500 universities worldwide.

The 2023-2027 strategy of Mines Saint-Etienne is in line with that of Institut Mines Telecom. It aims to:

• Support the ecological, digital and generational transitions and educate the people involved
• Support national and European sovereignty in microelectronics and digital technology

To support this strategy, it is recruiting an early career researcher in a PhD program (for 36 months) in gas sensors development for healthcare monitoring.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Context and objectives: Gas sensors based analytical platform is a promising point of care approach for autonomous, rapid and early diagnostic of disease. The human breath is a complex mixture of different gases. The concentration and nature of these gases can be a source of identification for the health condition of a person. For instance, the increase in the concentration of certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the breath, such as toluene (30 ppb), propanol (400 ppb), o-xylene (25 ppb) and cyclohexane (200 ppb) indicate the start of 1st stage of lung cancer. Thus, precise identification of these disease biomarker gases in human breath can be a step forward in the early detection of lung cancer. In this endeavor, the goal of this proposed PhD program is to develop a selective gas microsensor platform for detection of the VOCs biomarkers of lung cancer in the exhaled breath of a person. The gas sensors will be based on surface conducting metal oxides, such as SnO2, thanks to their high sensitivity to different VOCs, abundance, low cost and facile processing into thin films. However, a key pertaining challenge of SnO2 sensors is the lack of selectivity and high interference from humidity, while operating the sensor at low temperature. This PhD will aim to address these existing challenges of SnO2 gas sensors to make them suitable for identification of lung cancer biomarkers.

Work description: To address the aforementioned challenges, a multi-pronged strategy is envisaged in this PhD program.

• One of the key tasks of the PhD researcher will be to develop functionalization methods on SnO2 surface to introduce specific functionalities to improve its selectivity to the targeted VOCs biomarkers. The functionalization method will be based on diazonium electroreduction, in which under the influence of an electrochemical potential, an organic molecule is covalently grafted on the conducting surface. The future PhD will carry out functionalization of different types of organic molecules, such as aryl bearing electron acceptor, electron donor and bulky groups. The method is highly versatile and can deposit a monolayer or a multilayer of nanometric organic film continuously or discretely on a conducting surface. The work will encompass the optimization of different electrochemical conditions (potential, time, additives, convection) to get a monolayer of grafting of the substituted aryls. The PhD will have exposure to state of art equipment in electrochemistry, such as potentiostat, Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance (EQCM) and impedance spectrometer.
• Another task would be to incorporate the functionalized SnO2 film on the gas sensor electrodes and characterize the sensors to the targeted VOCs. The PhD researcher will be using screen and ink-jet printing methods to process the metallic ink and SnO2 formulation. The sensors will be tested to different VOCs biomarkers and the potential interferents, particularly humidity on the existing automated test benches in the research team. The PhD researcher will benefit from the extensive facilities in the host team in ink formulation, thin film processing by inkjet and screen-printing methods and customized measurement benches development for sensor testing. Moreover, the researcher will access the chemisorption analyzer to investigate the gas-materials interactions.
• The final task would be the material characterizations in collaboration with other teams and instrumentation platforms of LGF and SPIN research center. For instance, different surface and morphological characterizations will be conducted at “Caractérisation des Microstructures et des Surfaces (CMS)”. Microstructural studies will be carried out in partnership with “RX platform” of LGF.

Besides the three key tasks, the PhD researcher will have the opportunity to participate in national and international conferences, summer schools and seminars on electrochemistry and gas sensors to present the research outputs and network with other researchers. The researcher is expected to write reports, perform data analysis and prepare publications.

Tasks may change depending on the needs of the department and Mines Saint-Etienne.

The position is based on the Saint-Étienne campus. Participation in activities operated by the Saint-Étienne campus and international collaborations are encouraged.

PROFIL SOUGHT:

You are in one of the following situations:

• Candidate with Master and engineering degree in chemistry, chemical engineering and material science.
  • Experiences in physical chemistry. Past exposure to work with gas sensors or electrochemistry techniques (cyclic voltammetry, amperometry) is appreciated.
  • Knowledge of surface chemistry of materials.
  • Good spoken and writing English skills.
  • Motivated in research and adapted to work in a team.

Mines Saint-Etienne is distinguished by:

• A privileged working environment with a high student supervision rate and a high environment rate (support and back-up functions).
• First-rate experimental and digital resources.
• Significant contract research activity (€11m/year in Research and Innovation contracts), mainly with industrial partners.
• 25% international students, Member of the T.I.M.E. network and the EULIST European University.
• A centre for scientific, technical and industrial culture -La Rotonde- which is unique in France, and which has a major impact on society (> 50,000 visitors per year).
• Pleasant workplace, easily accessible by public transport and close to motorways.
• Public transport costs reimbursed up to 75% (subject to conditions).
• Sustainable mobility package.
• Staff committee that subsidises sports, leisure, cultural and social events and activities.
• The possibility of partial remote working.
• 46 days annual leave (for a non-executive working 38.5 hours full-time).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Recruitment conditions:

• Fixed-term contract for a period of 36 months
  • Desired start date: [01/10/2025]
  • Remuneration will be set according to the candidate's profile, based on the rules defined by the Institut Mines Télécom's management framework.
  • Full time.
  • Position based in Saint-Étienne.

The position is open to all, with accommodation available on request for candidates with disabilities. The job is open to civil servants and/or the general public.

All applications may be subject to an administrative enquiry.

How to apply:

Applications (CV, covering letter, letter of recommendation if applicable) must be submitted on the RECRUITEE platform no later than 30/06/2025.

As part of its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy, École des Mines de Saint Etienne is an employer that is committed to fair treatment of all applicants.

For further information:

For further information about the position, please contact: Mathilde RIEU – Enseignant chercheur (PhD director)

For all administrative information, please contact: Milica PETKOVIC – HR Administrator