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 - “Biomarkers for Early and Late Pathophysiological Stage and Progression in Neurodegenerative Diseases”, ref. - COMPETE2030-FEDER-00691000, Operation No. 15801, funded by COMPETE2030 and national funds (FCT) under Notice no. MPr-2023-12.

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

Scientific Area: Biomedicine.

Project Title: “Biomarkers for Early and Late Pathophysiological Stage and Progression in Neurodegenerative Diseases”.

Workplan: 

The success of this project will contribute to finding reliable blood biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases that, with our innovative Predict-Chip, will allow disease monitoring at point-of-care with early integration of mutation carriers into upcoming clinical trials, increasing chances of therapeutic success and significantly improving the well-being of patients and families.

Admission Requirements:

Mandatory:

- Candidate must have Bachelor’s degree in Biology or related fields and Master’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology or related fields from a higher education institution, with average final classification equal to or higher than 16 (out of 20);

- Candidate must be enrolled in a PhD program preferably in Cell and Molecular Biology or related areas; Or:

- An honor statement of capacity to enroll in the aforementioned cycle of studies until the grant is contracted;

-  Training in animal handling course accredited by FELASA;

- Authorization as a competent person for the development of animal research projects, granted by DGAV (Direção-Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária – Portuguese authority for animal health and welfare);

- Research experience using animal models of neurodegenerative diseases;

- Experience in molecular biology techniques, preferably involving RNA (synthesis, purification, extraction, cell transfection);

- Experience in RNA and protein extraction from animal tissues, quantification and analysis;

- Experience must be demonstrated through published scientific research.

 Preferential:

- Good oral and written skills in English and Portuguese;

- The candidate must demonstrate an interest in the scientific area of the project and be able to develop teamwork in a multidisciplinary and multicultural environment.

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 activities will be hosted at i3S, under the scientific coordination of Doctor Isabel Silveira.

Length time: The duration of the fellowship is 3 months, eventually renewable, and the expected starting date is August 1st, 2025, upon availability of the financed funds. 

Monthly maintenance stipend: €1.309,64, according to the values table of FCT, at Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Tabela_valores_SMM_2025.pdf). The payments will be made by bank transference. 

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

Evaluation Criteria: The candidate selection will be performed taking into account the Admission Requirements (described above), based on the evaluation of the curriculum vitae (80%) and motivation letter (20%). Candidates will be ranked taking into account the full evaluation (in a scale from 1 to 100).

Evaluation Pannel: President – Isabel Silveira, PhD; members Inês Mendes Pinto, PhD and António José Ribeiro, PhD.

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 rh.i3s@i3s.up.pt.

Applications: The call will be open between June 30th, 2025 and July 11th, 2025. 

The applications must be submitted electronically at:

https://dozer.i3s.up.pt/applicationmanagement/#/addapplications/d0cbfba7ce5281ce701c5b7f3d2b71e

The required documents for the application are: Certificate of Qualifications, Curriculum Vitae, letter of motivation, proof of enrolment in a PhD program or an 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/f49192621…