A call is open for the award of a BI Master Fellowship within the scope of the project "DM4You - Potencial da Dieta Mediterrânica no aumento da qualidade de vida - + saúde + sustentabilidade" (PRR-C05-i03-I-000152-LA1.3), funded through the “programa operacional do Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência”, NextGeneration EU funding fund, under the following conditions:

Scientific field: Biological Sciences

Admission Requirements:

• Hold a Master's degree in the field of Biology, Biochemistry or similar fields.
• The candidate must have spoken and written skills of the English language.
• It is a preferential factor to have laboratory experience in the field of Biomolecular Sciences.
• It is a preferential factor to have experience in protein extraction, fractionation and analysis.

According to the FCT Research Fellowship Regulation No. 950/2019 of December 16, 2019, articles 3 and 6, the chosen candidates for the BI (Research Fellowship) must comply, as a condition for the award of the scholarship, to the effective insertion in study cycles leading to the award of academic degrees or in courses not conferring academic degrees. The courses that do not confer academic degrees correspond to the courses provided in paragraph e) of nº 3 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 74/2006 of March 24 and must be developed in a higher education institution in association with at least one R&D unit, and the course plan must be included in one or more research areas of the unit.

Work plan:

The aim is to evaluate the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the blood plasma proteome both quantitatively and qualitatively. The proteomic approach will allow the evaluation of proteins known to be involved in cellular aging, as well as the identification of other proteins whose involvement in this process is still unknown.

The methodological approach will be based on the extraction, fractionation and enrichment of plasma proteins and subsequent analysis by LC-MS/MS. The work also involves the statistical and bioinformatic analysis of the protein profiles obtained.

Applicable legislation and regulations: The granting of the Research Fellowship will be carried out through the execution of a contract between FCT Nova and the grantee according to draft former.fct.pt/apoios/Minuta_Contrato_Bolsa.docx, under the terms of the “Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação” (Law No. 40/2004 of August 18 and Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of August 28) and the “Normas para Atribuição e Gestão de Bolsas no âmbito de Projetos de I&D”,  including infrastructure projects, the multiannual funding program for R&D units and other FCT funding instruments - 2021 Version (applicable from June 7 2021, www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Normas_de_Atribuicao_de_Bolsas_2021.pdf) and other applicable rules.

Workplace: The work will be developed at the Department of Life Sciences of NOVA-FCT, UCIBIO, under the scientific supervision of Professor Carla Pinheiro.

Duration of the fellowship(s): The fellowship will last for 6 months, starting in April 2024. The grant contract may be renewed up to (e.g.) a maximum of 16 months or until the end of the budget allocation of the funding project.

Monthly Maintenance Allowance Amount: The amount of the fellowship corresponds to €1259.64, according to the values of the fellowships awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the country (www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf), and payments are made on a monthly basis by bank transfer. If the fellowship holder wishes, a voluntary social insurance will be included in the payment.

Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: curriculum evaluation, interview, and motivation letter, with the respective evaluation of 50% for the curricular evaluation, 40% for the interview and 10% for the motivation letter. The criteria indicated will be evaluated on a scale of 0 to 100%. The Jury reserves the right not to award the scholarship if no candidates with the appropriate profile present themselves to the competition.

Composition of the Selection Jury:

President: Prof. Carla Pinheiro

1st Member – Prof. Rita Sobral

2nd Member – Prof. Graça P. Carvalho

1st Alternate – Prof. Doutor João Almeida

2nd Alternate – Doctor Isabel Duarte

Notification of results: Candidates who are not admitted will be notified on the day of the Jury meeting. The final results of the evaluation will be published through a list sorted by final grade posted in a visible and public place of the Department of Life Sciences and on the websites www.dcv.fct.unl.pt/noticias; https://ucibio.pt/announcement-bm-fellowship-2024. All admitted candidates will be provided via e-mail with the following:

- List of ranking of candidates;

- Minute No. 1 (to determine admission requirements and selection criteria);

- Minute No. 2 (selection and classification of all candidates).

Under the terms of the right to prior hearing of the interested parties, the Final Classification will be announced by any written means to all interested parties.

After communication of the provisional list of the results of the evaluation, candidates have a period of 10 working days to express their views at a prior hearing of interested parties.

Deadline for applications and how to submit applications: The call is open from February 20 to March 06 of 2024 and the selection results will be published by March 18, 2024.

Applications must be formalized, mandatorily, by email and in a single PDF document. The document must include:

1.  Motivation letter with the research fellowship announce reference;

ii)   Detailed Curriculum Vitae (including email address and telephone number);

iii)  Supporting documents of the academic degrees obtained and their classification and other supporting documents considered relevant;

iv) Reference letter(s) and contact details (minimum 1);

v)  Up-to-date declaration proving the candidate's professional status, indicating the nature of the relationship, functions and teaching hours on an annual average, if applicable, which may be replaced with a declaration under oath, if he/she does not carry out any professional activity or provision of services;

vi) Declaration of honour attesting to the commitment to enroll in a PhD or in a non-degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, if selected for the award of the fellowship and accepts the award of the same.

Candidates who formalize their application incorrectly are not admitted to the competition. The Jury is responsible for requiring the candidate, in case of doubt, to present the supporting documents of their statements.

For the purposes of application, the proofs may be replaced by a declaration of honour of the candidate, but the non-demonstration, in the contracting phase, of the possession of the required degree at the deadline of the application, entail the cancellation of the candidate's assessment.

Academic degrees obtained in foreign countries require registration by a Portuguese Institution in accordance with Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16 and Ordinance no. 33/2019, of 25 January. The presentation of the certificate is mandatory at the time of application.

More information can be obtained at:  https://www.dges.gov.pt/pt/pagina/reconhecimento?plid=374

Applications must be sent in a single document in PDF format by e-mail, indicating the reference of this notice and the name of the project “DM4You” in the subject, to:

Prof. Doutora Carla Pinheiro

Department of Life Sciences, FCT Nova

Email: cm.pinheiro@fct.unl.pt