Junior Research Chair in “Women’s cardiovascular health: innovative approaches in pathophysiology, diagnosis and prevention”

GENERAL GOALS

As part of the FIRE-UP structuring project (ExcellenceS call for projects), the Women’s Health Institute of the Université Paris Cité is launching this call for applications in order to :

Enable young researchers to set up and lead a group within a research team in France affiliated to the Women’s Health Institute – Université Paris Cité. The purpose of the groups thus created will be to strengthen the host team’s research facilities by developing their own themes independently and collaboratively.
Promote mobility and attract high-level young leaders.
Develop new research activities and expertise within the scope of Université Paris Cité.

The ExcellenceS – Institut Santé des Femmes support is for a period of 3 years.

The programme is open to any researcher or teacher-researcher who has held a PhD for more than two years, regardless of nationality, working in France or abroad. Candidates may be researchers who already hold a permanent position.

ALLOCATED RESOURCES

A total of €360k will be allocated over 3 years, which can be spent on salaries, grants and equipment.

The salary for the non-permanent laureate is included in this budget (depending on experience). If the candidate already holds a permanent position, the budget can be used to recruit staff to support the Chair (post-doc – engineer, etc.).

A welcome package of €100k (maximum) may be added if justified and approved by the Women’s Health Institute Board.

Applicants must identify a host team within the perimeter of the Université Paris Cité affiliated to the Institut Santé des Femmes (cf link to the list of the teams), contact this team before submitting their application and include a commitment letter from the host team in their application file. The host team must provide the Chairholder with research premises compatible with the ambitions of the proposed project (installation costs will be borne by the host team), and ensure access to the site’s technological platforms.

The laureate undertakes to take up his or her position no later than 9 months after being notified by the Institute.

OUTLINE OF THE “WOMEN’S CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS AND PREVENTION”

Context

Women’s cardiovascular health has long been underestimated and neglected in both clinical practice and health research, despite cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in women. The physiology, determinants, symptoms and history of cardiovascular disease present specificities that are still largely unknown in this population, which is likely to delay diagnosis and appropriate management. Some mechanisms of the development or aggravation of these diseases in women may be biological in nature – genetic or hormonal for example – mobilizing sex-related specificities; certain reproductive life events – pregnancy adverse events, menopause – also modulate women’s cardiovascular risk and are often underestimated in cardiovascular risk estimates; finally, other mechanisms are related to gender inequalities, possibly vectors of specific behavioral and environmental exposures and less adequate care pathways in women. The characterization of these different disease mechanisms, as well as their combination, remains incomplete.

While awareness of this issue has already been raised, there is still a long way to go before we can fill the knowledge gap regarding women’s cardiovascular health, its determinants, its diagnosis and management, and its long-term consequences for them and their offspring. To achieve this, it is crucial to mobilize innovative, multiple, and complementary disciplinary approaches, which is why this chair’s mission will be to strengthen or foster multidisciplinary collaborations within iWISH.

Interest of the Chair for the Women’s Health Institute

This chair is part of axis 5 « Specificity of women in chronic diseases ». It will allow for the development of cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary research, in order to progress in the integration of these specificities from fundamental research to the care pathway. If the subject is suitable, it can also be integrated into the Institute’s cross-disciplinary axes, or build bridges with other thematic axes.

Expected Topics

All topics related to the specificities of women’s cardiovascular health may be explored, including one or more of the following:

Biological, behavioral, and environmental (physicochemical and social environment) determinants of women’s cardiovascular health
A « lifespan » perspective of cardiovascular health, focusing on all key periods in a woman’s life and the various mechanisms of disease development.
New diagnostic approaches and preventive interventions (primary or secondary) in women’s cardiovascular health.

Methodological approaches

The theme may be addressed through fundamental research in biology and genetics, epidemiology, toxicology, clinical research, and human and social sciences (quantitative or qualitative approaches).

The feasibility of the project must be clearly addressed.

A pedagogical or research promotion project around the theme of the Chair is not required for this research Chair, but could be an asset.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

– Holder of a PhD or equivalent in a field relevant to the scope of the Chair.

– Minimum 2 years post-doctorate

– No age or nationality requirements

– Fluent in French and/or English

SELECTION PROCESS

The projects will be assessed by an independent scientific committee.

The selection will take place in two stages : a pre-selection based on applications (September 2025), followed by an audition for the pre-selected candidates (October 25).

The selection criteria will be as follows

Quality of the applicant (background and scientific output)
Scientific quality and feasibility of the project
Contribution to the Université Paris Cité – Institut Santé des Femmes: coherence and added value

APPLICATION FORM

– Online submission until Monday September 1, 2025 at 12.00 am

– Send to the following email address: atrium.sante-femmes@u-paris.fr

– The application must include:

Complete application form

Template document available at the following link: https://cloud.u-paris.fr/s/g9dBqSjKYtNmqA8

Letter of commitment from the host research team (affiliated to the Women’s Health Institute – Université Paris Cité) describing how the person applying for the Chair will be integrated and the added value of the project for the Institute and the university.

– List of teams: https://cloud.u-paris.fr/s/g9dBqSjKYtNmqA8 as at 1 April 2025

– An email confirming receipt of the application will be sent to each candidate after submission.

For further information, please contact : atrium.sante-femmes@u-paris.fr
Scientific directors of iWISH : Pr. Vassilis Tsatsaris et Dr. Catherine Deneux-Tharaux

Version française