IRB Barcelona International PhD Fellowships 2021

Predoctoral programme

For the 2021-2022 academic year, IRB Barcelona is offering up to 20 PhD fellowships for young scientists from the national and international community who wish to undertake a doctoral degree in biomedicine. We encourage applications from highly motivated graduates with outstanding qualifications in biology, biochemistry, physics, pharmacology, computational biology or related fields. Successful candidates will join research groups headed by top-level scientists and will carry out their research in cutting-edge fields of biomedicine in a stimulating environment.

Call closed

The following will be offered in this call:

Up to 4 fellowships associated with the “Contratos Predoctorales para la Formación de Doctores (FPI)” 2021 call assigned to the Severo Ochoa Accreditation funded by the “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICIU)” (herein referred to as Severo Ochoa fellowships).
Up to 8 fellowships associated with the “Ayudas para contratos predoctorales para la formación de doctores” 2021 call funded by the “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICIU)” (herein referred to as FPI Project fellowships).
2 fellowships funded by the ITN-Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions call of the European Commission at Dr. Roger Gomis' laboratory (Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, grant agreement No. 955951) (herein referred to as ITN fellowships). Requirements for the ITN fellowships are provided in Annex 1 of the 2021 call. More information at https://evomet-itn.eu/
1 fellowship funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation at Dr. Toni Gabaldón' laboratory (under the Grant “Relative Timing and Modularity in The Path to the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor” and Grant ID GBMF9742). Requirements for this fellowship are provided in the 2021 call.

Check out IRB Barcelona groups participating in this frame:

Núria López-Bigas - Biomedical Genomics
Cayetano González - Cell Division Laboratory
Roger Gomis - Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis
Marco Milan - Development and Growth Control Laboratory
Cristina Mayor-Ruiz - Targeted protein degradation and drug discovery
Salvador Aznar-Benitah - Stem Cells and Cancer
Alejo E. Rodriguez-Fraticelli - Quantitative Stem Cell Dynamics
Ángel Nebreda- Signalling and Cell Cycle Laboratory
Francesc Posas and Eulàlia de Nadal - Cell Signalling
Antoni Riera - Research Unit on Asymmetric Synthesis
Raúl Méndez - Translational Control of Cell Cycle and Differentiation
Patrick Aloy - Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology
Fran Supek - Genome Data Science
Modesto Orozco - Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics
Eduard Batlle - Colorectal Cancer Laboratory
Antonio Zorzano - Complex Metabolic Diseases and Mitochondria
Maria J. Macias - Structural Characterization of Macromolecular Assemblies
Lluís Ribas - Gene Translation Laboratory
Toni Gabaldón - Comparative Genomics
Jens Lüders - Microtubule Organization
Manuel Palacín - Amino Acid Transporters and Disease
Xavier Salvatella - Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics

ONLINE APPLICATION

Eligibility

The programme is aimed at students who have completed one of the following options by September 2021:
1. studies that lead to an official Spanish (or from another country of the European Higher Education Area) university degree in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Medicine, Chemistry or related fields and that have 300 credits (ECTS), of which at least 60 must correspond to master level.
2. a degree in a non-Spanish university not adapted to the European Higher Education Area and that gives access to doctoral studies in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Medicine, Chemistry or related fields in Spain.
Candidates are selected exclusively on merit, on the basis of their curricula. The academic grades and curriculum vitae of each applicant are evaluated, as well as recommendation letters and a motivation letter. No selection criteria for positive or negative discrimination are applied.

How to apply

Applicants should complete and submit the online form. More information regarding the application can be found in the “Useful Information” tab.

Those applying for more than one fellowship need only submit a single application, which will be considered by the different calls.

Applicants will be asked to upload the following documents: *Please note that all the documents provided should be in PDF format.

Curriculum vitae
A motivation letter (maximum 2 pages) highlighting their research experience and academic achievements and explaining why they are interested in IRB Barcelona and in a particular research group.
A scanned copy of the student’s certified Academic Record. These documents must show the grades attained in exam periods.
Any additional files considered relevant to the application
Two recommendation letters from university lecturers or scientists with who the applicant has studied or worked.

Students will be required to provide a brief summary of work experience and to request letters of recommendation from two scientists who are familiar with their academic work and who can judge their potential as a PhD student. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that referees submit these letters. Applications not supported by these letters will not be eligible.

Please indicate the Research Node(s) to which you wish to apply (up to 3).

Research Nodes

Chemical and Structural Biology
Cell Pathophysiology
Computational Biology
Invertebrate Models of Disease
Preclinical Models of Cancer
Preclinical Models of Disease

More information on the research activities of each group can be found on the IRB Barcelona webpage.

Applicants should submit information in English (CV, motivation letter, summary of work experience). If the certified academic records are not in Catalan, Spanish or English applicants should also attach a translation in one of the above mentioned languages.

For more information, please, contact phd@irbbarcelona.org.

Selection procedure

Students are selected from a pool of highly qualified international applicants on the basis of academic and technical excellence.

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee consisting of IRB Barcelona group leaders and members of the IRB Barcelona PhD Advisory Committee. Short-listed candidates will receive invitations to visit IRB Barcelona for interviews during April 2020. Travel expenses will be reimbursed and accommodation will be provided. Offers of admission will be made to the successful candidates shortly after the interview period. Students should expect to take up their positions at IRB Barcelona from September 2021.

Applicants who have not been successful but who have received a positive evaluation will be put on a waiting list to cover possible renunciations and future positions.