PhD Student

The Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN) group and the research units BIONAMIX and BIOVISM of Ghent University welcome a candidate for a full time PhD position on advancing prospective sustainability assessments of pharmaceutical manufacturing via data-driven and hybrid methods. The PhD student will be appointed within the framework of the European project PHARMECO (Advancing Safe and Sustainable by design Practices in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing) (https://pharmeco.eu/), involving academia, research institutes, pharmaceutical industry and consultancy.

The PHARMECO project aims to scale up and demonstrate sustainable processes for industrial (bio)manufacturing of pharmaceuticals by integrating environmentally friendly technologies and processes. However, given the complexity of production processes, there is still a knowledge gap on the environmental impact of, for example, pharmaceutical biomanufacturing. Prospective sustainability assessment of pharmaceuticals in early development stages is especially challenging due to limited data availability, making it difficult to predict environmental impacts accurately. Additionally, complex synthesis routes require integrating green chemistry and life cycle thinking in early decision-making. AI-based methods and hybrid models, which integrate data-driven and mechanistic modelling, hold significant potential to enhance prospective sustainability assessment of pharmaceuticals by enabling early-stage prediction of environmental impacts, optimizing synthetic pathways, and supporting data-driven decision-making for greener drug development.

Within your PhD, you will develop a methodological approach which leverages the power of data-driven and hybrid methods for the prospective sustainability assessment of pharmaceuticals at early development stages. Several sub-objectives have been identified:

• Identifying the different (sub)processes in pharmaceutical production, collecting data and constructing engineering models for existing technologies, in both synthetic and bio-based drug manufacturing.
• Build data-driven and hybrid models to scale up the life cycle inventory of drug substance synthesis, which enable estimating the material and energy consumption of these technologies for full implementation.
• Evaluation and benchmarking of the environmental performance of innovative pharma technologies by life cycle assessment.

In this PhD position, you will work in close collaboration with other STEN and KERMIT colleagues at Ghent University and the PHARMECO consortium, in particular with the industrial partners such as Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceutica, Sanofi, Pfizer, Merck, UCB, GSK, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca. The scientific findings should lead to publications in international peer reviewed journals and should be presented at international conferences. The ultimate goal of the research is to obtain a doctoral degree.

The start date is planned at August or September 1st 2025. The PhD duration is four years.

Candidates are expected to have a background in engineering and/or an affinity for mathematical modelling and sustainability assessment methods such as life cycle assessment. Affinity with pharmaceutical manufacturing or chemical processes is also relevant. We are looking for candidates with a critical and analytical attitude and a sense of initiative.
Other profile requirements:

• You hold a master's degree in bioscience engineering, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, mathematical engineering, environmental engineering or equivalent.
• The degree requirements must be met at the start of the appointment;
• You have an interest in scientific research;
• You can operate both independently and in a multidisciplinary team;
• You have organisational/managerial skills and are highly motivated;
• You have good writing and presentation skills;
• You master the English language, written and orally, in an academic context;
• Having experience with quantitative and/or qualitative research is essential;
• Additional requirements:
  •  You have experience with scientific computing, data analysis, machine learning and/or AI
  • You have an interest in environmental sustainability and pharmaceutical production
• Considered a plus:
  • You have experience with LCA software such as SimaPro, openLCA, GaBi, etc.;
  • You have experience with pharmaceutical, chemical or bio-based production;
  • You have experience with the development, upscaling or comparison of production processes;

• We offer a full-time position as a doctoral fellow, consisting of an initial period of 12 months, which - after a positive evaluation, will be extended to a total maximum of 48 months.
• Your contract will start on 1/8/2025 at the earliest.
• The fellowship amount is 100% of the net salary of an AAP member in equal family circumstances. The individual fellowship amount is determined by Team Personnel Administration based on family status and seniority. A grant that meets the conditions and criteria of the regulations for doctoral fellowships is considered free of personal income tax. Click here for more information about our salary scales
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of holiday leave (on an annual basis for a full-time job) supplemented by annual fixed bridge days, bicycle allowance and eco vouchers. Click here for a complete overview of all the staff benefits .

Send your CV, copy of your diploma (if already in your possession) and a motivation letter to pieter.nachtergaele@ugent.be.
We do not accept late applications.
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Jo Dewulf (Jo.Dewulf@UGent.be, +32(0)9/264 59 49) or Dr. Pieter Nachtergaele (Pieter.Nachtergaele@UGent.be)