IRB Barcelona International PhD Fellowships - Extraordinary call 2024

Predoctoral programme

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 or Organic Chemistry. 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 FPI positions associated with the “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2023” Call (funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI- MICINN).

Check out IRB Barcelona groups participating:

Dr. Patrick Aloy - Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology
Dr. Raúl Méndez - Translational Control of Cell Cycle and Differentiation
Dr. Alexandra Avgustinova - Pediatric Cancer Epigenetics
Dr. Eduard Batlle - Colorectal Cancer Laboratory
Dr. Antoni Riera - Research Unit on Asymmetric Synthesis

ONLINE APPLICATION

Eligibility

The programme is aimed at students who have completed one of the following options by December 2024:
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.

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 Group(s) to which you wish to apply (up to 2). Details of the available research projects for the FPI fellowships are provided in Annex 1 of the (FPI-Project) associated with the “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2023” Call (funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI- MICINN).

Research Groups:

Dr. Patrick Aloy - Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology
Dr. Raúl Méndez - Translational Control of Cell Cycle and Differentiation
Dr. Alexandra Avgustinova - Pediatric Cancer Epigenetics
Dr. Eduard Batlle - Colorectal Cancer Laboratory
Dr. Antoni Riera - Research Unit on Asymmetric Synthesis

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. 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 and Academic Office will oversee the pre-selection 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 pre-selection. The candidates with the highest scores will be invited for an online 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.

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.