ICBAS| Bolsa de Investigação - H2CURE (Refª 2023/2)

The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar of the University of Porto (ICBAS) hereby opens this Call for Applications for one research scholarship  for the project “H2Cure - Development of Honey, Gelan Gum and Hyaluronic Acid gels and dressings formulations for wound treatment” POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047032, financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), under the following conditions:

1. Research field / Scientific area: Veterinary Sciences/Medical Engineering/Biomedical Engineering/Medicine/Pharmaceutical Sciences/Biological Sciences or related areas.

2. Admission requirements:

To apply for the research grant, applicants must comply with the following requirements, for which documentary evidence must be provided:

1. Master's or Integrated Master's in Biomedical, Medical, Veterinary, Biological, Pharmaceutical Sciences and related areas*;
2. Enrollment in a Doctoral Program in Biomedical, Medical, Veterinary, Biological, Pharmaceutical Sciences and related areas or be enrolled in a non-academic degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or several R&D units, a requirement to be proven until the act of hiring.

*If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, under the terms of article 25 of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16, which approves the legal regime for recognition of higher education degrees and diplomas conferred by foreign higher education institutions and paragraph e) of no. 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018 of August 3, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act.

3. Preferred requirements:

1. Applicants with previous experience in the field of Regenerative Medicine, Cell Therapies, Clinical Analysis will be valued. Specifically, the candidate must have previous knowledge and experience in:

1. Cell culture, particularly Mesenchymal Stem Cells;
2. Cell Therapies, particularly with the use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Therapies combined with Biomaterials;
3. In vitro assays, particularly cell culture characterization assays, cell differentiation assays, molecular biology assays and cytocompatibility assays;
4. In vivo assays, namely biocompatibility assays (based on ISO 10993-6:2016); surgical interventions, therapeutics and functional assessment methods, at least in rodent and sheep animal models;
5. Biostatistics techniques and analysis of data and results;
6. Pathological anatomy, histology, immunocytochemistry and molecular biology techniques.

1. Fluency in written and oral English; fluency in other languages ​​will be valued;
2. Knowledge of the "One Health" concept and its applications;
3. Previous experience of working in multidisciplinary teams made up of researchers with different scientific backgrounds and levels of experience;
4. Comfort to work and intervene in multinational contexts;
5. Experience in participating in research projects, particularly in the field of Regenerative Medicine and Cellular Therapies.

4. Work Plan:

This project aims to develop formulations and dressings based on honey and hyaluronic acid, products popularly known and used in Portugal, for the prevention and treatment of chronic wounds in all its phases. Other compounds, such as hyaluronic acid, will be added to the therapeutic properties of isolated honey, contributing to faster and more effective wound healing, giving rise to differentiating formulations in the medical device market, with superior performance to existing ones and at a lower overall unit cost. The main tasks to be performed under the fellowship will be:

1. Development of in vitro validations of the formulations developed;
2. Development of in vivo validations of the developed formulations using appropriate animal models.
3. Candidates will also be responsible for statistical analysis of data and results, as well as medical and technical writing of results;

5. Applicable Legislation and Regulations:

The present call is governed by the FCT Regulations for Research Fellowships approved by the Regulation nº n.º 950/2019, the Research Fellowship Holder Statute (approved by Law no. 40/2004, of 18th of August, in its current version), the University of Porto Regulations for Research Fellowships approved by the Regulation n.º 184/2021  (published in the Series II of the DR, of 3^rd March), the Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of 16 August (Legal regime for recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions) and the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), approved by Decree-Law No. 4/2015, of January 7.

6. Workplace:

The work will be carried out at the Laboratory of Veterinary Cell Therapies of the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Porto (ICBAS-UP) and at the Clinical and Research Center of Vairão, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Doctor Ana Colette Pereira de Castro Osório Maurício.

7. Duration:

The grant will have a foreseeable duration of 4 months, possibly renewable for equal or different periods subject to the existence of budget allocation and extension of the project end date, on an exclusive basis.

8. Monthly maintenance allowance amount:

The monthly maintenance allowance is 1.144,64€ according to the table of values ​​attached to the Regulation of Scholarships of the University of Porto. Payment will be made by ICBAS by bank transference. In addition, the grant holder will be covered by personal accident insurance.

9. Evaluation methods:

When evaluating the candidates' CV, in particular scientific experience and scientific merit, the elements presented for the last two years of activity covered by the specific areas of the competition will be valued, according to the following criteria:

Integrated assessment of the candidate's curricular trajectory, based on an overview of his/her scientific merit (50%):

1. 1. Overall scientific consistency of the CV - 20%;
   2. Diversity and quality of scientific indicators in the specific areas of the announcement - 20%;
   3. Participation in research projects - 10%.

Relevant experience in (50%):

1. 1. Regenerative Medicine, Cell Therapies (Cell Culture, in vitro and in vivo assays applied to Regenerative Medicine) and Pathological Anatomy, Histology, Immunocytochemistry and Molecular Biology Techniques – 40%;
   2. Additional Valuation Points such as knowledge of other analytical techniques, veterinary clinic, among others – 10%.

In case there are candidates with a classification whose difference is less than or equal to 10% of the classification obtained by the best classified candidate, the jury will interview the candidates in this situation.

The purpose of the interview is to clarify aspects related to the results of the previous investigation.

The final classification will be obtained by the following formula: 0.9 x AC + 0.1 x E, on a scale of 0 to 100 points. If there is no interview, the final classification will be the same as that obtained in the AC.

In case of withdrawal of the selected candidate, he/she will be replaced by the next one in the approved final ranking list, which for all purposes constitutes the recruitment reserve list and which will have the duration until June  2023. In the event that none of the candidates demonstrate that they have the profile indicated for carrying out the work plan, the jury reserves the right not to award the scholarship to the competition.

10. Selection panel:

President – ​​Prof. Doctor Ana Colette Pereira de Castro Osório Maurício, Associate Professor ICBAS;

1st effective member – Prof. Doctor Carla Maria Proença Noia de Mendonça, Assistant Professor at ICBAS;

2nd effective member – Doctor Rui Damásio Alvites, Researcher at the Institute of Sciences, Technologies and Agroenvironment of the University of Porto;

1st alternate member – Prof. Doctor Ana Lúcia Emídia de Jesus Luís, Assistant Professor at ICBAS;

2nd alternate member – Prof. Doctor Luís Miguel Paiva Benites da Silva Ataíde, Assistant Professor at ICBAS.

11. Disclosure of the results:

Evaluation results will be communicated by email to the address provided by the candidates in the Curriculum Vitae/ Letter of Motivation.

In compliance with the provisions of the Article 121 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (“Código do Procedimento Administrativo”), after being notified, candidates have 10 working days to submit a formal rebuttal.

The final decision must be taken within a maximum period of 60 working days after the conclusion of the preliminary hearing of interested parties or of the public consultation

12. Submission of applications:

The Call for Applications is open until January 27 of 2023 (until 11.59 pm, local time).

Applications must be submitted exclusively on the ICBAS website, at the following address: https://sigarra.up.pt/icbas/pt/cnt_cand_geral.concursos_list

The following documents are mandatory, under penalty of exclusion from the Call:

1. Curriculum vitae;
2. Letter of motivation indicating availability to start the Work Plan;
3. Copy of the certificate(s) of the required qualifications and recognition of the degree in case it was obtained in a foreign Higher Education institution (this recognition can be delivered until the act of hiring);
4. Proof of enrollment in a Doctoral Program in Biomedical, Medical, Veterinary, Biological, Pharmaceutical Sciences and related areas or proof of be enrollment in a non-academic degree course integrated in the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or several R&D units (to be presented until the act of contracting);
5. Declaration of Eligibility (attached)
6. Proof of preference conditions (if applicable);
7. Any documents that the candidates consider to be relevant for the assessment of their merits.

Documents must be attached directly to the application message, without links to external platforms/drives.

In order to guarantee the reading of all documents, the preferred recording format is the Portable Document Format (.pdf).The 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.

13. The University of Porto actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access so  that  no  applicant  may  be  privileged,  benefited,  damaged, or  deprived  of  any  right  or exempted from any duty due to ancestry, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic disease, nationality, ethnic origin, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions, and trade union membership.