Research fellowship

19 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S)

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Portugal

Application Deadline

4 Mar 2024 - 00:00 (Europe/Lisbon)

Type of Contract

Other

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

20 Feb 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Reference Number

Fellow_BI/FCT_Proj2022/i3S/20020403/2024

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

No

Offer Description

i3s – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (hereinafter i3) is opening a call to award a grant for the development of R&D activities by doctoral students, enrolled in doctoral programs, within the project “Drug repurposing from cancer therapy to control of infections”, ref. - PTDC/BIA-MIC/5343/2020, financed by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P/MCTES, PIDDAC.

Host Institution: i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto, Portugal.

Scientific Area: Health and Life Sciences.

Project Title: “Drug repurposing from cancer therapy to control of infections”.

Workplan:

Leishmaniasis are diseases caused by different species of the protozoan parasite Leishmania, which threat 1 billion people in tropical and subtropical areas. Leishmania are transmitted to humans by insects and, depending on the parasite phylogeny, can cause skin diseases, confined to the site of parasite entry, or disseminating (“metastatic”) infections of visceral organs, which are fatal if not treated. Leishmaniasis control and therapy requires the urgent development of new, more effective and safer, compounds.

The ultimate aim of this project is to improve therapy for leishmaniasis by exploring similarities between Leishmania-infected cells and cancer. Leishmania are obligatory intracellular residents of macrophages, whose adaptation and survival inside these phagocytes depends on their capacity to hijack host cell functions, in many instances resembling tumor cell adaptive mechanisms. Among the molecular events commonly deregulated in Leishmania-infected macrophages and tumor cells are signaling pathways.

This project intends:

i)            to identify the components of the PI3K and other pathways selectively targeted by disseminating Leishmania species and investigate how this translates into the metastatic profile of infected macrophages.

ii)           To repurpose inhibitors of the PI3K and other signaling pathways, towards control of leishmaniases.

Admission Requirements:

Mandatory:

• We are looking for a candidate holding a Master degree in Microbiology or related areas in Health/Life sciences with a final mark of 17 or higher;
• First degree in the areas above;
• Proven experience and solid knowledge in cellular biology and parasitology;
• Candidates must also be enrolled in a doctoral program at a Portuguese higher education institution, Cell Biology or related fields, or an honor statement of capacity to enroll in the aforementioned cycle of studies until the grant is contracted;
• Ability to work independently and in a team; excellent communication skills (oral and written); Fluency in English (spoken and written);
• Accreditation for Animal Work according to FELASA B; Accreditation from DGAV for animal work;

Preferential:

• Preference will be given to candidates with experience in cell migration and invasion and in Leishmania manipulation;

Legislation and other applicable regulations: Research Fellowship Holder Statute enacted by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18th, as amended; FCT Research Grants Regulation, approved by way of Regulation nr. 950/2019, published in the II Series of DR of December 16th, 2019; i3S Research Grants Regulation.

Place: The research activites will be hosted at i3S, under the scientific coordination of Professor Ana Tomás.

Length time: The duration of the fellowship is 11 months and 28 days, and the expected starting date is April 1st , 2024, upon availability of the financed funds.

Monthly maintenance stipend: €1.259,64, according to the values table of FCT, at Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf ). The payments  will be made by bank transference.

Research grants may also include other components, as the voluntary social insurance, under the terms of the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, article 10.

Evaluation Criteria: Selection will include:

Curricular evaluation (75%), which will take into account the applicant previous experience as described in the Admission Requirements (65%); and the scientific and technological production and impact (10%),

the Motivation Letter in English indicating interest and motivation for the area in which the application fits (25%);

In case two candidates obtain the same number of points, these be called for an interview. In this case, the curricular evaluation will weight 90% for all candidates and the interview will weight 10%.

Evaluation Pannel: President – Prof. Ana Tomás; member Doctor Margarida Duarte and Doctor Teresa Braga.

Information and Publicity of Funding Granted: The results of the evaluation will be notified by email to all candidates. After notification, candidates have 10 working days to comment and, within that period, a complaint may be submitted by email to [email protected] .

Applications: The call will be open between February 20th , 2024 and March 4th , 2024.

The applications must be submitted electronically at:

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/applicationmanagement/#/addapplications/dd8730bbc19ff42f39b01d92b77d89f2

The required documents for the application are: Certificate of Qualifications, Curriculum Vitae, letter of motivation, proof of enrolment in a PhD program or a honor statement of capacity to enroll in the aforementioned cycle of studies until the grant is contracted, and other documents, considered as relevant by the candidate.

Documents to be provided at the time of contracting: in addition to those mentioned in the previous point, it is necessary to present proof of enrolment in the study cycle.

Full announcement at:

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/fileupload/downloadfile/viewpdfnewtab/9a8199cc5…

Requirements

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Specific Requirements

Admission Requirements:

Mandatory:

• We are looking for a candidate holding a Master degree in Microbiology or related areas in Health/Life sciences with a final mark of 17 or higher;
• First degree in the areas above;
• Proven experience and solid knowledge in cellular biology and parasitology;
• Candidates must also be enrolled in a doctoral program at a Portuguese higher education institution, Cell Biology or related fields, or an honor statement of capacity to enroll in the aforementioned cycle of studies until the grant is contracted;
• Ability to work independently and in a team; excellent communication skills (oral and written); Fluency in English (spoken and written);
• Accreditation for Animal Work according to FELASA B; Accreditation from DGAV for animal work;

Preferential:

• Preference will be given to candidates with experience in cell migration and invasion and in Leishmania manipulation;

Additional Information

Website for additional job details

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/fileupload/downloadfile/viewpdfnewtab/ce778effbdcfaba2d…

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

i3S

Country

Portugal

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/applicationmanagement/#/addapplications/dd8730bbc19ff42…

Contact

City

Porto

Website

http://www.i3S.up.pt

Street

Rua Alfredo Allen 208

Postal Code

4200-135

STATUS: EXPIRED