Research Initiation Fellowship

i3s – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (hereinafter i3) is opening a call to award a Research Initiation Fellowship to carry out initial R&D activities, under the project "Summer with Science", funded by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology.

Host/ contracting entity: i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Porto, Portugal.

Scientific Area: Molecular Biomaterials.

Project Title: “Design and synthesis of new asparaginase peptide substrates to facilitate the purification of this therapeutic enzyme”.

Workplan:

Asparaginase is a well-established biologic drug, used as a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The mechanism of action of this enzyme relies on its ability to convert asparagine (Asn) into aspartic acid (Asp), with the release of ammonia. The depletion of asparagine concentrations in tumor cells blocks the required cellular protein synthesis, leading to tumor cells death. One of the drawbacks of the use of this enzyme in therapeutic formulations is its level of purity. Being mostly obtained from procaryotic cells (namely E. coli), the presence of impurities, such as bacterial endotoxins, can easily lead to immune sensitization, which can cause severe side-effects.

This project aims the rational design of Asn-containing peptides as novel substrates for asparaginase, based on the current knowledge of the catalytic site of this enzyme. The peptide monomeric unit should be able to successfully interact with the active site of the enzyme and become deamidated, which can be measured by monitoring ammonia release. The successful peptides will be then exploited to develop novel methods for the enzyme isolation and underpin greener methods for the production of biopharmaceuticals. The project will combine experimental and computational (molecular docking) approaches and will provide training in a range of synthesis and analytical techniques (peptide synthesis, HPLC, MS, NMR, CD).

Admission Requirements:

Mandatory:

- to be a student enrolled in a professional higher technical course, an undergraduate degree, an integrated master's degree or a master's degree, in the area of materials sciences, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical sciences or related areas, Or:

- to have a degree in the area materials sciences, bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biochemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical sciences or related areas and to be enrolled in a non-degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution developed in association or cooperation with one or several R&D units, until the contract start date.

These requirements must be fulfilled at the time the grant is contracted. At the time of application, proof of matriculation may be replaced by a declaration of honor that you are able to matriculate on the date of contracting the scholarship.

Preferencial:

Fluency in English is a plus.

The recipient of this type of grant may not exceed, upon conclusion of the grant contract, an accumulated period of one year in this type of BII research initiation grant, whether consecutive or interpolated, all the host entities with which he/she has been associated being taken into consideration for the calculation.

The grant cannot be awarded to anyone who has already benefited from research grants directly or indirectly funded by FCT, regardless of their type, awarded under the terms of the Research Grant Holder Statute.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Statute of the Scientific Research Grant Holder, approved by Law no. 40/2004, of 18 August and republished by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of 28 August; Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., as amended.

Place: The research activities will be hosted at i3S, under the scientific coordination of Doctor Helena Azevedo.

Length time: the fellowship will have a non-renewable duration of 1 month, starting on September 1st , 2022.

Monthly maintenance stipend: The amount of the grant is €486.12, according to the table of values of grants directly awarded by FCT, I.P. in the country (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/Tabela_de_Valores_SMM_2022.pdf ). The payments will be made by bank transference, at the end of the month.

Evaluation Criteria: The selection will be based on curricular evaluation (30%) will include the previous research experience as described in the Admission Requirements, motivation letter (30%) and a interview (40%). An evaluation will be carried out (on a scale of 1 to 100), followed by a ranking of candidates based on the score obtained in the criteria defined above.

Evaluation Panel: President – Helena Azevedo; member: Pedro Brandão; member: Joana Silva.

Information and Publicity of Funding Granted: The results of the evaluation will be publicized, through a list sorted by final score obtained, available for consultation on the i3S website, and candidates will be notified via email.

Application deadline and form of presentation of applications: The call will be open between august 1st to august 18th , 2022.

The applications must be submitted electronically at:

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/applicationmanagement/#/addapplications/BIIveraoi3S010818082022

accompanied by: Certificate of Qualifications, Curriculum Vitae, motivation letter, proof of enrollment in a study cycle or proof of enrollment in a course that does not confer an academic degree integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution (can be replaced by a declaration of honor that you are able to enroll in said study cycle or course at the time of signing the grant contract) and other documents that the candidate considers relevant, taking into account what is described in the admission requirements and in the preferential criteria.

Documentation to be provided at the time of contracting: besides the documents referred to in the previous item, it is necessary to present proof of enrolment in the required study cycle or in a non-degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution.

Full annoucement at: https://dozer.i3s.up.pt:8443/fileupload/downloadfile/viewpdfnewtab/614bd...