PhD research positions now available within the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA-ITN-ETN “Photonics for Healthcare: multiscAle cancer diagnosiS and Therapy - PHAST”.

The PHAST-ETN project

The European Training Network PHAST (Photonics for Healthcare: multiscAle cancer diagnosiS and Therapy) provides excellent, highly-skilled education and training in the vibrant field of Biophotonics for 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) which will be enrolled in a strong multidisciplinary PhD programme. PHAST addresses some relevant “unmet needs” of the medical community in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer – one of the leading causes of death worldwide – to significantly improve the quality of life for European society. The ESRs (PhD students) will be trained to all the technologies through hands-on laboratory platforms, thematic workshops and courses to build solid careers as biophotonics professionals in both academic and nonacademic sectors. This will be possible thanks to the multidisciplinary environment created by the PHAST consortium, composed of research institutions, 2 hospitals and 8 industries from 7 European Countries (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Ireland and Sweden), among them specialized small companies as well as global players in the field such as Horiba, Philips and Zeiss.

Main goal and specific objectives of PHAST

The aim of the PHAST (Photonics for Healthcare: multiscAle cancer diagnosiS and Therapy)-ETN action is to develop an innovative training programme in the field of biophotonics able to offer society a team of highly skilled multidisciplinary scientists through a personalized PhD career development plan covering the fields of cutting edge diagnostics and therapy of cancer diseases. An early diagnosis and targeted treatment of cancer, which are of great importance to the European community, require the development of innovative diagnosis tools and non-invasive methods to monitor a therapy response. The main scientific goal of the PHAST-ETN action is to develop multiscale advanced photonic technologies for the diagnosis of cancer in vitro and in vivo and the monitoring of therapy for personalized medicine, by reaching four specific objectives.

Available ESR positions

PHAST offers 7 ESR/PhD research positions for 3 years (36 months), during which it is intended that a PhD project is started, provided positive evaluation. The following ESR positions are available throughout the beneficiaries of the PHAST project:

CLOSED - ESR #1: Integrated liquid biopsy for cancer diagnostics via genomic markers detection

Host Institution: University of Parma, Italy.

Supervisors: Prof. Annamaria Cucinotta (University of Parma), Dr. Catalina David (Horiba Jobin Yvon SAS).

ESR #2: Point-of-care Raman microspectroscopy for detecting tumour markers in body liquids

Host Institution: Friedrich Schiller University, Germany.

Supervisors: Prof. Michael Schmitt (Friedrich Schiller University), Dr. Catalina David (Horiba Jobin Yvon SAS).

Link to the specific project: ESR2.

ESR #3: Spectral tissue imaging for ex-vivo cancer diagnosis and survey

Host Institution: Horiba Jobin Yvon SAS, France.

Supervisors: Dr. Sébastien Legendre (Horiba Jobin Yvon SAS), Prof. Olivier Piot (Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne).

Link to the specific project: ESR3.

ESR #4: Integrated optical fibre sensors for intravital monitoring

Host Institution: Politecnico di Torino, Italy.

Supervisors: Prof. Davide Janner (Politecnico di Torino), Dr. Jean Schleipen (Philips BV).

Link to the specific project: ESR4.

CLOSED - ESR #5: Hybrid diffuse optical monitoring and theranostics with blood flow and oxygen metabolism biomarkers on pre-clinical models

Host Institution: Institute of Optics and Photonics - ICFO, Spain.

Supervisors: Prof. Turgut Durduran (Institute of Optics and Photonics - ICFO), Dr. Udo Weigel (Hemophotonics SL).

CLOSED - ESR #6: Time-gated diffuse optical spectroscopy for deep tissue diagnostics

Host Institution: Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Supervisors: Prof. Antonio Pifferi (Politecnico di Milano), Dr. Spectracure AB (Spectracure AB).

ESR #7: Multimodal nonlinear imaging for clinical diagnosis in combination with laser tissue ablation for selective tissue removal

Host Institution: Institute of Photonic Technologies - IPHT, Germany.

Supervisors: Prof. Juergen Popp (Institute of Photonic Technologies - IPHT), Dr. Orlando Guntinas-Lichius (Jena University Hospital).

Link to the specific project: ESR7.

ESR #8: Micro-optical imaging system for multimodal non-linear endospectroscopy

Host Institution: Grintech GmbH, Germany.

Supervisors: Dr. Bernhard Messerschmidt (Grintech GmbH), Prof. Juergen Popp (Institute of Photonic Technologies - IPHT).

Link to the specific project: ESR8.

ESR #9: Multimodal endo-microscopy for improved in-vivo colorectal cancer diagnosis

Host Institution: Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, Germany.

Supervisors: Prof. Hans Zappe (Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg), Dr. Bernhard Messerschmidt (Grintech GmbH).

Link to the specific project: ESR9.

CLOSED - ESR #10: Multimodal intraoperative handheld forward-imaging probe

Host Institution: Medical University of Wien, Austria.

Supervisors: Prof. Rainer Leitgeb (Medical University of Wien), Dr. Christoph Hauger (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG).

CLOSED - ESR #11: Towards multifunctional multimaterial optical fibres for diagnostic and treatment

Host Institution: Fondazione Links, Italy.

Supervisors: Dr. Nadia G. Boetti (Fondazione Links), Dr. Udo Weigel (Hemophotonics SL).

ESR #12: Development of advanced online dosimetry algorithms for photodynamic therapy of tumours

Host Institution: Spectracure AB, Sweden.

Supervisors: Dr. Johannes Swartling (Spectracure AB), Prof. Antonio Pifferi (Politecnico di Milano).

Link to the specific project: ESR12.

CLOSED - ESR #13: Diffuse optical monitoring and prediction of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for personalized breast cancer management

Host Institution: Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy.

Supervisors: Prof. Pietro Panizza (Ospedale San Raffaele), Prof. Paola Taroni (Politecnico di Milano).

CLOSED - ESR #14: Tissue identification for surgical guidance using biophotonics

Host Institution: Tyndall National Institute, Ireland.

Supervisors: Prof. Stefan Andersson-Engels (Tyndall National Institute), Dr. Kevin Manley (Stryker).

CLOSED - ESR #15: Micro-camera for hyperspectral imaging for in-vivo probing

Host Institution: Tyndall Research Institute, Italy.

Supervisors: Dr. Paul Galvin (Tyndall Research Institute), Dott. Pietro Panizza (Ospedale San Raffaele).

Application process instructions

How to submit your application

The following documents must be sent as pdf files IN A SINGLE EMAIL to the email address phast-etn@unipr.it:

1. The ESR Application form, to be downloaded from the PHAST-ETN website, must be duly completed and submitted as a pdf document. Please fill in the application form in all parts. If you feel some sections are not relevant for you, please enter the sentence “Not Applicable”. There are instructions and examples in italic font and highlighted in yellow. Please delete them before filling in the form. Please save the Application Form document with the following name: “Your Name and Surname – ESR Application Form”.
2. A CV in European format.
3. A copy of a valid ID document (passport or other);
4. Copies of educational certificates and transcript of records (course transcripts).

The selection procedure will be based on two steps:

1. screening of all applications received and selection of a shortlist of candidates based on CV, academic transcripts, motivation and relevance with the specific research project. Selection criteria include scientific merit, a preference for a foreground expertise in the field of photonics and a period of experimental activity carried out during the MSc master thesis.
2. If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to an interview (held in person or Skype) with, at the end of which successful candidates will be selected by the project consortium.

Furthermore, in some cases, additional requirements (e.g. internationally recognized English language qualifications achieved) and/or selection procedures based on local regulations might be applied (please refer to the single ESR Information Sheet or ask the reference person of the corresponding institution).

Please contact the coordinator, Prof. Daniel Milanese, via phast-etn@unipr.it email address, in case you have any questions regarding the application process.

General rules for ESRs

Criteria for eligibility

• The applicants can be of any nationality.
• At the time of recruitment, the researcher must not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host organization (i.e. Italy for ESR1) for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to his/her recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.
• ESR Candidates must be, at the time of recruitment by the host organization, in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers and have not yet been awarded a doctoral degree. This is measured from the date when they obtained the Master’s degree that would formally entitle them to embark on a doctorate.
• Applicants are not eligible if they have already been awarded a PhD.

Funding information

Funding agency is H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019 (Proposal no: 860185).

Early Stage Researcher Salary and Allowances

Living allowance: approximately € 40,000/year + mobility allowance of € 7,200/year + family allowance where applicable

(all values before tax and social security payments). This calculation is to give you an idea about the level of funding and does not correspond necessarily to the final net stipend you will receive.

ESR start date

Typically around 1 May 2021, with flexibility depending upon the local institution.

Basic duties and responsibilities of the ESR

The ESR will be required to work exclusively on the MSCA ITN programme (PHAST-ETN). In all cases, all duties and responsibilities will be clearly outlined in the researchers Personal Career Development Plan, as determined in the early stages of the project between the ESR and his/her supervisors.

Statement regarding data protection

The Università degli Studi di Parma (UNIPR) is the coordinator of the PHAST-ETN project and as such, all applications that are sent by email to the email address phast-etn@unipr.it will be initially processed by UNIPR.

You share your information with us for the sole purpose of assessing the requirements for the selection process regarding the Early Stage Researcher (ESR) positions of the PHAST-ETN project.

We respect that information and we are careful to comply with our obligations under data protection laws while processing your application, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2016/679. You can find the Regulation here.

When you submit your information to the coordinator of PHAST-ETN either directly or via a third party, we gather personal data relating to you in order to assess your application. We need this data to establish your eligibility, and contact you in relation to your application or any resulting offers. The coordinator processes and may disclose your data to the participants of PHAST-ETN for the only purpose of assessing your application. The list of participants involved in the PHAST-ETN project is reported below. For applications to projects in beneficiaries outside of UNIPR, we will forward your application and information to the respective parties. Your data will not be disclosed to any third party, other than the institution you are applying to. Please see each host Institution’s Data Protection Policy for further information. UNIPR will retain your personal data in accordance with our record retention policy. You have the right to obtain from UNIPR without undue delay: the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning you (art. 16 of the GDPR); the erasure of personal data concerning you (art. 16 of the GDPR); right to obtain restriction of processing (art. 18 of the GDPR).

By submitting your application to the Coordinator, you agree to these terms. You can read the full policy of UNIPR in the Privacy Notice uploaded on the PHAST website (www.phast-etn.eu). For more information and/or support please write to prof. Daniel Milanese at phast-etn@unipr.it.

PHAST participants:

• Università degli Studi di Parma, Italy.
• Politecnico di Torino, Italy.
• Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Germany
• Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
• The Institute of Photonic Sciences, Spain.
• Medical University Vienna, Austria.
• Friedrich-Schiller University, Germany
• Tyndall National Institute – University College of Cork, Ireland.
• Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg, Germany.
• Fondazione Links - leading innovation & knowledge for society, Italy.
• Horiba Jobin Yvon S.A.S, France.
• Spectracure AB, Sweden.
• Grintech GmbH, Germany.
• Ospedale San Raffaele, Italy.
• Philips BV, The Netherlands.
• Stryker, Ireland.
• Hemophotonics SL, Spain.
• Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, France.
• Jena University Hospital, Germany.
• Innolume GmbH, Germany.
• Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Germany.
• Lund University, Sweden.

Complete information on the PHAST-ETN Project, Research positions and instructions for application are published at: http://www.phast-etn.eu.