IRB Barcelona International PhD Fellowships 2025

Predoctoral programme

For the 2025-2026 academic year, IRB Barcelona is offering up to 5 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, chemistry, 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 open

The following will be offered in this call:

Up to 5 predoctoral contracts associated with the Severo Ochoa Accreditation 2023, funded by the “Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)” (herein referred to as Severo Ochoa predoctoral contracts).
Up to 3 FPI positions associated with the “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2024” Call (funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI- MICINN).
Up to 1 SPOILCONTROL fellowship funded by the DN– Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions call of the European Commission, to work at BSC under the supervision of Dr. Toni Gabaldón. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme.

Check out IRB Barcelona groups participating:

Dr. Jens Lüders - Microtubule organization in cell proliferation and differentiation
Dr. Toni Gabaldón - Comparative Genomics
Dr. Francesc Posas & Dr. Eulàlia De Nadal - Cell Signaling
Dr. Maria Macías - Structural Characterization of Macromolecular Assemblies
Dr. Alexandra Avgustinova - Pediatric Cancer Epigenetics
Dr. Xavier Salvatella - Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
Dr. Alejo Rodriguez-Fraticelli - Quantitative Stem Cell Dynamics
Dr. Ana Victoria Lechuga-Vieco - Mitochondrial Biology and Tissue Regeneration
Dr. Angel Nebreda - Signalling and Cell Cycle Laboratory
Dr. Eduard Batlle - Colorectal Cancer Laboratory
Dr. Lluís Ribas - Gene Translation Laboratory
Dr. Marco Milán - Development and Growth Control Laboratory
Dr. Raúl Méndez - Translational Control of Cell Cycle and Differentiation
Dr. Roger Gomis - Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis
Dr. Salvador Aznar - Stem Cells and Cancer
Dr. Stefanie Wculek - Innate Immune Biology
Dr. Patrick Aloy - Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology
Dr. Direna Alonso-Curbelo - Inflammation, Tissue Plasticity & Cancer
Dr. Modesto Orozco - Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics

ONLINE APPLICATION

Eligibility

The programme is aimed at students who have completed one of the following options by September 2025:
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 also for the IRB-TARGET programme need only submit a single application, which will be considered by the different calls.

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

Curriculum vitae specifying education and experience, including career breaks, and supported by pertinent documents.
A motivation letter (maximum 2 pages) highlighting your research experience and academic achievements and explaining why you 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. If the certified academic records are not in Spanish or English applicants should also attach a translation in one of the above mentioned languages.
Any additional files considered relevant to the application
Two recommendation letters from university lecturers or scientists with who the applicant has studied or worked. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that referees submit these letters. Applications not supported by these letters will not be eligible. If the applicant has previously worked with a researcher at IRB Barcelona, any letter of reference from said person cannot be included as one of the two reference letters requested. However, it can be sent to provide additional support for the application.

Please indicate the Research Node(s) to which you wish to apply (up to 3). Details of the available research projects are provided in Annex 1 of the 2025 call IRB Barcelona International PhD Fellowship Programme (Useful information for applicants section).

Research Nodes:

Chemical and Structural Biology
Cell Pathophysiology
Computational Biology
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.

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

Selection procedure

An Evaluation Committee will appraise eligible applications both in the remote evaluation stage and in the interview stage. This committee will include external members and representatives of group leaders at IRB Barcelona. The evaluation will be independent, impartial, objective and free of conflicts of interest, and the selection will be open, efficient, transparent, fair, and merit-based. The PhD Advisory Committee will oversee the remote and interview stages of the selection process.
Applicants will receive continuous support from the Academic Office through the helpdesk (email, phone), which will notify them of the outcome of the preselection. The candidates with the highest scores will be invited to IRB Barcelona for an interview. Those who do not pass the threshold established will be excluded from further consideration. Candidates who do not pass this evaluation will be informed why and will be provided with the instructions to follow to start a redress procedure.
Short-listed candidates will receive an invitation to a three-day interview process held at IRB Barcelona. Teleconference interviews will be used only for candidates with prior commitments that cannot be rearranged and that thus prevent them from travelling to Barcelona.
Offers of admission will be made to the successful candidates shortly after the interview period. Candidates positively evaluated but with an insufficient score to receive a fellowship will be put on a reserve list to cover possible renunciations and future positions.