Research Chair iWISH « Environment and Women’s Health »

GENERAL GOALS

As part of the ExcellenceS program, the Interdisciplinary Institute for Women’s Health at Université Paris Cité is launching a call for applications aimed at supporting the emergence of new scientific initiatives in women’s health.

This initiative fully aligns with Université Paris Cité’s mission statement: “Planetary health: healthy humans within healthy societies on a healthy planet”, which places health challenges at the heart of societal and environmental transformations.

The objectives of this call are to:

  • Enable a researcher to establish and lead a group within a research team in France affiliated with the Women’s Health Institute – Université Paris Cité. The groups thus created will aim to strengthen the host team’s research capacity by developing their own research themes independently and collaboratively.
  • Develop new research activities and expertise within the scope of Université Paris Cité.

The ExcellenceS support from the Interdisciplinary Institute for Women’s Health is offered for a period of four years.

The program is open to all researchers or faculty members who have held a PhD for more than five years, regardless of nationality, and who are working in France or abroad. Applicants may include researchers who already hold a permanent position.

 

ALLOCATED RESOURCES

A total of one million euros will be awarded over 4 years, which can be allocated to salary, funding, or equipment. The salary for a laureate without a permanent position is included within this budget (depending on experience). If the candidate already holds a permanent position, the budget may be used to recruit supporting staff for their Chair (post-doc, engineer, etc.).

Applicants must identify a host team within the scope of Université Paris Cité affiliated with iWISH (list in the annex), contact them prior to applying, and include in their application a letter of preliminary commitment from the head of the host team. The host team must provide the Chair holder with research facilities appropriate to the scope of the proposed project (installation costs will be borne by the host team) and ensure access to the site’s technological platforms.

The laureate agrees to assume their position no later than 9 months after notification by the Institute.

 

OUTLINE OF THE “ENVIRONMENT AND WOMEN’S HEALTH” CHAIR

Context

Environmental determinants play a major role in women’s health throughout their lives. Environmental exposures can be highly diverse : chemical environment (pollutants, endocrine disruptors, etc.); physical environment (air quality, noise, climate, etc.); social environment (housing and working conditions, urban or rural settings, social networks, discrimination, etc.) — this list is not exhaustive. These factors can interact, producing additive or even multiplicative effects on health.

Women may have specific vulnerabilities to these environmental exposures, related to their exposure trajectories, social or professional roles, and/or physiological particularities. In addition, there are critical periods in a woman’s life (puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, aging, etc.) during which exposure may affect them differently compared to men.

Interactions among all these determinants remain insufficiently explored and conceptualized in an integrative manner.

The aim of this Chair is to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms linking environment and women’s health, as well as to produce knowledge that can inform potential preventive actions. To achieve this, it is essential to employ innovative, diverse, and complementary disciplinary approaches. In this regard, the Chair is intended to strengthen or foster multidisciplinary collaborations within iWISH.  

Relevance of the Chair for the Institut Interdisciplinaire Santé des Femmes

This Chair is part of the transversal axis “Environment and Women’s Health” and will, by nature, be connected to the other thematic axes of the Institute. It will enable the development of ambitious and innovative multidisciplinary research, aiming to advance the integration of environmental determinants to better understand their influence on women’s health at all stages of life.

Expected Approaches

Projects should adopt an integrated and multidimensional approach, addressing issues related to women’s health, including gender dimensions, and ideally drawing on one or more of the following axes:

Environmental determinants of women’s health
Analysis of environmental exposures across their various dimensions—physical, chemical, and social—and their interactions with biological and hormonal factors specific to women.

Life-course and health trajectory approach
Study of the effects of environmental factors at key stages of life (childhood, adolescence, reproductive age, pregnancy, menopause, aging), with particular attention to periods of specific vulnerability, and analysis of cumulative or delayed effects of exposures.

Social and territorial health inequalities
Examination of the relationships between territory, social conditions, and environmental exposures. Projects may explore structural mechanisms and cumulative vulnerabilities that shape long-term health inequalities across social groups and territories.

Public policies and prevention
Development or evaluation of monitoring, prevention, and intervention tools; analysis of public policies; strategies for complex interventions; engagement with institutional actors and civil society; and the dissemination and translation of knowledge into actionable outcomes.

Disciplines and Methodologies

Projects may draw on approaches from, among others:

  • Basic research
  • Toxicology
  • Epidemiology and clinical research
  • Environmental sciences
  • Social sciences and humanities
  • As well as mixed and integrative approaches

Interdisciplinary projects that demonstrate a genuine integration of multiple disciplines will be particularly valued.

Feasibility and Structuring

The scientific, methodological, and organizational feasibility of the project must be clearly demonstrated, including team structure, planned partnerships, timeline, and resources to be mobilized.

Educational and Knowledge-Transfer Dimension

A pedagogical or scientific outreach component related to the Chair’s theme is not mandatory. However, a well-structured plan for knowledge dissemination, training, or engagement with society will be considered an important asset.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  • Hold a PhD or equivalent in a field relevant to the Chair’s scope
  • Minimum of 5 years post-PhD experience
  • No age or nationality restrictions
  • Proficient in French and/or English
  • Have a preliminary agreement to be hosted for the duration of the Chair in a research team affiliated with iWISH by 15/06/2026
  • Eligibility for the chair requires a minimum of 5 years of post-PhD experience. Please note that this condition must be met no later than December 31, 2026

 

SELECTION PROCESS

Projects will be evaluated by an independent scientific committee.

The selection process will take place in two stages: a preselection based on applications (September / October 2026), followed by interviews for the shortlisted candidates (October / November 2026).

The selection criteria will be as follows:

  • Quality of the candidate (background and scientific output)
  • Scientific quality and feasibility of the project
  • Integration with the host team
  • Contribution to the Université Paris Cité – Institut Interdisciplinaire Santé des Femmes landscape: coherence and added value

 

APPLICATION PACKAGE

  1. Completed application form
    Template available at the following link: https://cloud.u-paris.fr/s/aeZfiyi9XzfTpPc
  2. Letter of commitment from the proposed host research team (affiliated with the Institut Santé des Femmes – Université Paris Cité) describing how the applicant will be integrated into the team and the added value of the project for the Institute and the University.
    List of iWISH teams: https://cloud.u-paris.fr/s/aeZfiyi9XzfTpPc

A confirmation email will be sent to each applicant upon receipt of their submission.
For any information, please contact: atrium.sante-femmes@u-paris.fr

Scientific heads of the Institut Interdisciplinaire Santé des Femmes (iWISH): Prof. Vassilis Tsatsaris and Dr. Catherine Deneux-Tharaux

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