CALL FOR ONE RESEARCH GRANTS UNDER THE PROJECTS BIOFAEC AND ONCOSCREEN AT THE INSTITUTO PORTUGUÊS DE ONCOLOGIA DO PORTO (Reference: 2022.09051.PTDC + PI177-CI-IPOP-01-2023-HORIZON-ONCOSCREEN).

The Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto (IPO Porto) is opening a call to award a research grant to carry out R&D activities within the scope of the projects, “BioFaec - Novel faecal biomarkers for early detection of precancerous lesions and cancer: Improving the current model for colorectal cancer screening” (2022.09051.PTDC) funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and  “ONCOSCREEN from HORIZON-MISS-2021-CANCER-02” (PI177-CI-IPOP-01-2023-HORIZON-ONCOSCREEN) financed by European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). 

1. Scientific Area

Health Sciences 

2. Admission requirements

Obligatory

1. MSc holders in Biological Sciences or related areas, finished in the last year. 
2. Have published at least one scientific article, as first author in high profile peer-reviewed in a Q1 international journal. 

Preferential

1. Master classification of at least 18/20;
2. Laboratory experience in several molecular biology methods;
3. Participated in international and national conferences and meetings;
4. English proficiency (oral and written);
5. Motivation to work in an interactive and collaborative environment;
6. Organized, able to prioritize and accomplish deadlines;
7. Driven to fulfill goals and reach objectives;

If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of article 25 of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act.

3. Applicable legislation and regulations

Research Fellowship Holder Statue enacted by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18th, as amended; FCT Research Grants Regualtion, approved by way of Regulation nr. 950/2019, published in the II Series of DR of December 16th, 2019; Research Center IPO Porto Research Grants Regulation. 

4. Workplan

The research grantee will:

1. Assist in biological samples collection, namely liquid biopsies, by articulating efforts with the clinical teams and interacting with patients.
2. Process biological samples.
3. Implement molecular biology techniques applied to the identification and validation biomarkers, including extraction, quantification and quality assessment of nucleic acids, real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, immunobloting, ELISA, etc.
4. Keep updated the project(s) databases and lab notebook.
5. Prepare scientific reports, communications and papers.

5.Workplace

The work will be developed mainly at the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Porto Francisco Gentil, EPE (IPO-Porto), under the scientific guidance of Prof. Dr. Luís Lima.

6. Duration of the scholarship

The studentship will last six (6) months, starting at November 1st 2024, on an exclusive basis, cannot be awarded for periods shorter than three consecutive months according to FCT's regulation of advanced training of human resources.

7. Monthly value of the grant:

The monthly maintenance allowance is 1259,64€, according to the table of stipends values awarded by the FCT, I.P, which can be consulted at: https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atu…. The IPO-Porto will pay the monthly maintenance allowance amount by bank transfer. In addition, the grantee will be covered by a personal accident insurance (PAI).

8. Selection Methods

The admitted applications will be evaluated considering the candidates' academic or professional qualifications, professional career, relevance of the experience and training and the type of duties carried out in accordance with the profile described above. 

The jury will analyze the application documents according to following criteria:

Criterion A - Curriculum evaluation, with a weight of 30%:

Sub-criterion A1 - Previous experience in accordance with the proposed work plan and the preferential requirements (10%).

Sub-criterion A2 - Publications and participation in scientific meetings (10%).

Sub-criterion A3 - Academic qualifications (10%).

Criterion B – Motivation letter, with a weight of 70%

Sub-criterion B1 -Ability to demonstrate the interest of previously acquired training and the suitability of their skills to the project to be developed (50%).

Sub-criterion B2 - Motivation and availability for the planned activities (20%).

Candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each sub-criterion according to the following formula:

(10% x A1) + (10% x A2) + (10% x A3) + (50% x B1) + (20% x B2)

An interview can be held if the juri decides in order to have a better clarify the admitted candidate profile 

Criterion C – Interview, with a weight of 25% of the overall

Sub-criterion C1 -Clarity, coherence, eloquence, objectivity, accuracy and brevity (10%).

Sub-criterion C2 - Motivation and availability to demonstratethe suitable of conduncing research ativities under the scoups of the projects (15%).

In case of interview, the candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each sub-criterion according to the following formula:

((10% x A1) + (10% x A2) + (10% x A3) + (50% x B1) + (20% x B2)) x 75% + ((10% x C1) + (15% x C2))

After evaluation of all admitted applications, the jury will write a meeting minute with all process of recruitment, evaluation, and selection, including an ordered list of approved candidates and the final decision of the jury. The final decision of the jury shall be validated by the Head of the Institution, who is also in charge of deciding about the hiring. 

9. Jury elements

President - Dr. Luís Carlos Lima, PhD

1st effective member- Prof. Dr. Mário Dinis Ribeiro, MD, PhD

2nd effective member- Prof. Dr. Lúcio Lara Santos, MD, PhD 

1st supplementary member - Dr. José Alexandre Ferreira, PhD

2nd supplementary member - Prof. Dr. Carlos Palmeira, PhD

10. Form of advertising/notification of results

The results of the evaluation will be announced via the email indicated by the candidates in their Curriculum Vitae/Letter of Motivation.

Candidates have a period of 10 working days, counting from the day immediately following the notification, to express their opinion, if desired, in a prior hearing with interested parties, under the terms of article 121 et seq. of the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA).

11. Form of submission of applications and application deadline

The call is open from the 8th of October to the 22nd of October 2024 (until 23:59, local time). Applications must be formalized, obligatorily, by email send to luis.carlos.lima@ipoporto.min-saude.pt and candidaturas.ci-ipop@ipoporto.min-saude.pt and the email subject must be “Application for a research grant – BIOFAEC + ONCOSCREEN", accompanied by the following documents:

1. Motivation letter;
2. Candidate's Curriculum Vitae;
3. Certificate(s) of academic qualifications and evidence of relevant training;
4. One recommendation letter;
5. Declaration on honor that the applicant fulfills the requirement set out in article 6 of the Research Grants Regulation from FCT, IP (model below).

Proofs must be attached directly to the application, without the use of links to external platforms/drives. To guarantee the reading of all documents, the preferred recording format is the Portable Document Format (.pdf). Files must be named with the candidate's first and last name and must not exceed, as a whole, 5 MB. These can be compressed in .zip format.

For further information about the project and the work to be developed, contact Dr. Luís Lima (luis.carlos.lima@ipoporto.min-saude-pt)

Declaration on honor

I, (identification of the candidate), bearer of the Citizen's Card / Visa / Residence Card no. ____, valid until ____, declare under honor commitment to meet the conditions set forth in the n.ºs 4 and 5 of article 6.º from the Regulation of Research Grants from FCT,IP (Regulation No. 950 / 2019 of 16 December).

Porto, ___/___/_____

__________________________________

(Candidate holder's signature)