Research Studentships (for PhD students) - (BL99/2024-IST-ID)

12 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento _IST-ID

Department

DRH

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biological engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Portugal

Application Deadline

26 Apr 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)

Type of Contract

Not Applicable

Job Status

Not Applicable

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

European Union / Next Generation EU

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

Applications are open for 01 Research Studentship(s), within the framework of the project “Pacto da Bioeconomia Azul” (“Blue Bioeconomy Pact”) at “Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento” (IST-ID) (reference C632741873-00467082, investment n.º 16), financed by the European Union and national funds through the “Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação” (IAPMEI) and the Recovery and Resilience Plan

Workplan:

1. Determine the potential biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, “bioplastics”) by marine bacteria (associated with corals, algae, sponges and fish) through genome-wide bioprospection techniques;

2. Determine the biosynthesis of PHAs by the genotypically positive strains on culture media using dedicated laboratory bioassays (e.g., Nile red staining and mass spectrometry bioassays); 

3. Determine growth parameters and biopolymer production by select bacterial strains on a mixture of commercial sugars that mimics the saccharide composition of hydrolysates of select marine algae;

4. Test the tolerance of select, PHA-producing bacteria towards growth inhibitors possibly present in complex hydrolysates of marine algae, and prepare a narrow group of candidate strains (1 to 5) for PHA biosynthesis assays in bench bioreactors (2L).

Duration: The research fellowship(s) will have the duration 20 months. It is expected to begin in May 2024 and end in December 2025 (end of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact Project), and may be eventually renewed for additional months in case the Blue Bioeconomy Pact Project is extended, with the limit of 48 months, including the duration of the initial contract.

It is mandatory to formalize applications with the submission of the following documents: i) B1 Form – Fellowship application (https://ist-id.pt/concursos/bolsas/ ); ii) Curriculum Vitae; iii)academic degree certificate, where applicable; iv) proof of enrollment at an academic degree course (PhD); v) motivation letter.

Applications must be submitted to the email: [email protected] ;                [email protected] ; [email protected]

 

Requirements

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biological engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

Admission Requirements:

a) to hold a master degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Marine Biology or related areas;

b) to be enrolled in a PhD awarding program of an academic institution.  

Additional Information
Benefits

Monthly maintenance allowance: According to the values for Research Fellowships awarded by FCT in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf ), the amount of the monthly maintenance allowance is € 1 259,64, being the payment method an option of the Fellow by Wire Transfer/Check.

Eligibility criteria

Admission Requirements:

a) to hold a master degree in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Marine Biology or related areas;

b) to be enrolled in a PhD awarding program of an academic institution.  

Selection process

Selection methods: The selection methods will be the following: Curriculum evaluation, with eventual individual interview if necessary. The criteria used to evaluate the candidates’ curricula will be as follows:

1. Familiarity with laboratory techniques and methods in basic microbiology, such as microbial cultivation and preparation of culture media and chemical solutions (25%);

2. Familiarity with laboratory techniques and methods in the field of bioengineering, such as the design of experiments with, and informed utilization of, bioreactors (25%);

3. Experience in biochemistry, analytical chemistry or bioprocess techniques, such as metabolite extraction from bacterial and/or algal cultures, retrieval of algal hydrolysates via physical-chemical and/or enzymatic methods, HPLC and LC-MS- Acquaintance with bioassays used to detect polyhydroxyalkanoate production by marine bacteria will be considered an differentiating asset of the candidate (40%);

4. Academic trajectory. Bachelor’s and Master’s final grades, with special value attributed to indicators of the academic qualifications of the candidate (e.g., quality of the Master thesis dissertation, participation in scientific meetings and/or publication, participation as grant holder in externally-funded research projects (10%).

Composition of the selection Jury:Professor Rodrigo da Silva Costa; Doctor Maria Teresa Ferreira Cesário Smolders; Doctor Tina Keller-Costa

Announcement/ notification of the results: The final evaluation results will be communicated to all applicants by email.

Deadlines and procedures of complaint and appeal . A complaint may be lodged from the final decision within 15 working days, or an appeal to the Executive Board of IST-ID within 30 working days, both counted from the respective notification

Additional comments

Legislation and Regulations: Statute of Scientific Research Fellow, approved by Law nr. 40/2004, of August 18, as worded by Decree-Law nr. 123/2019, of August 28; FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships, available on https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/RegulamentoBolsasFCT2019.pdf and https://dre.pt/application/file/a/127230968 .

Workplace: The work will be developed at the Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (iBB) of Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, under the scientific supervision of Professor Rodrigo da Silva Costa and Doctor Maria Teresa Ferreira Cesário Smolders.

Website for additional job details

https://ist-id.pt/concursos/bolsas/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

IST-ID

Country

Portugal

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Lisbon

Website

http://ist-id.pt/

Street

Av. Rovisco Pais

Postal Code

1049-001 Lisboa

STATUS: EXPIRED