6 PhD Positions in the MSCA COFUND Cure Heart and Brain Program

ELEGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

(1) Researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity in Spain for more than 12

months in the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline (reference date for call 1 is 31st

of January 2024).

(2) Researchers must be in possession of a doctoral degree* at the deadline of the co-funded

programme's call.

*A medical doctor degree will be accepted only when it corresponds to a doctoral degree or if the researcher can demonstrate his/her appointment in a position that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. professorship appointment). Medical doctor degrees corresponding to basic medical training as defined in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC will not be considered a doctoral degree. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered as postdoctoral researchers and will be considered eligible to apply.

(3) Researchers who are already permanently employed by CNIC at the call closing date (reference

date for call 1 is 31st of January 2024) are not eligible.

CNIC RESEARCH LINES OFFERED

• Myocardial homeostasis & cardiac injury
• Cardiovascular risk factors & brain function
• Novel mechanisms of atherosclerosis
• Cardiovascular regeneration
• Novel arrhythmogenic mechanisms
• Cardiovascular health promotion

CNIC Offers:

• Employment contract for postdoctoral researchers according to art. 22 of Spanish Law on Science,

Technology and Innovation (“Ley de la Ciencia”) with duration of 36 months

• Access to state-of-the art infrastructures and advanced technologies.

• Integration into an excellent scientific environment.

• Incorporation adaptable to the candidate circumstances

• Implementation of the research project presented by the fellow

• Incorporation within the Cure Heart & Brain program

• Training: the programme will offer training to develop key transferable skills and competences,

foster innovation, entrepreneurship, promote Open Science practices, FAIR data management,

and public engagement. The fellows will acquire new skills through advanced training,

international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral mobility.

• Secondment options at Associated Partners premises or chosen by fellows

• Supervision by the CNIC´s Group Leaders and co-supervision by PIs from Associated Partners.

The application process comprises of two steps:

SECTION 1: 1st STAGE OF APLICATION PROCESS: COLLECTION OF

EXPRESSIONS OF INTREST AND ELIGIBILITY CHECK

Applicants will be required to apply through CNIC´s online application system at

https://www.cnic.es/en/convocatoria/cnic-cureheartbrain where they will fill in their personal details and attach their resumes and PhD/MD title. During this step the candidates will also be asked to fill in a simple Application Form (Annex 1 to the call) where their preferences regarding the CNIC´s hosting groups* and secondments** will be defined. Candidates that do not fulfil the eligibility criteria will be allowed two weeks for amendment of the submitted information. Eligible applications will be matched with the host groups at CNIC.

*Candidates will be able to present one proposal with one hosting group of their choice (detailed in Annex 2 to the call) and indicate 2-4 reserve groups within the CNIC.

During the 1st stage of application process the candidates will be asked to fill in the Application Form (Annex 1 to the call). The Application Form includes a question about the secondment’s preferences. As this field is not obligatory to fill in during the 1st application stage, the fellows can indicate their preferences for secondments if they are known. If not, these can be defined during the second stage of application (proposal preparation). The candidates can choose to carry on secondments at the premises of the Partners associated to our programme (see Annex 3 to the call for list of Associated Partners accepting secondments) or can indicate their own preferences. If the fellows choose the secondment options at Associated Partners, there is no action required from the candidates, as CNIC will carry on all the necessary arrangements for these stays. In case secondment options outside the Cure Heart & Brain partnership are chosen the candidates will have to make sure that the hosting institutions agree to host them and will be willing to sign a Partnership Agreement with CNIC.

SECTION 2: 2nd STAGE OF APPLICATION PROCESS–PROPOSAL PREPARATION

Candidates that passed the eligibility check will be asked to write a project proposal and prepare a Career Development Plan with the help of one of the CNIC´s Group Leaders of their choice. Templates and information for the second step of the application will be provided to the eligible candidates.

After the first stage the eligible candidates will be matched with the hosting groups and will prepare

project proposal and Career Development Plan with the help of one of the CNIC´s Group Leaders.

The research proposal has to be submitted using a predefined template. The research proposal will

be evaluated as described below. During the second stage of evaluation interviews will be performed.

TRAINING PROGRAMME

Given the mission to “improve CV health”, a key strategy of CNIC is to train the next generation of

translational researchers endowed with knowledge of both basic and clinical/applicable aspects of

research so that they will be in a position to shorten the timeframe to ‘translate’ fundamental research results into practical applications.

Training will be delivered through 3 main actions, as detailed below: (i) Training through research; (ii) Training through training activities, delivered both locally and through network-wide events; and (iii) Career development actions. Several training modules will be delivered via eLearning platforms to minimise interference with laboratory work and to reduce the Network’s carbon footprint. eLearning modules will be shared freely.

Training options will be adjusted on individual bases within each Career Development Plan.