VHIO International PhD Programme Fellowships 

Join us @ VHIO for a PhD!
Eligibility criteria  | How to apply |  Selection process  |  Fellowships Available  | Call Calendar | Contact

Apply now to boost your scientific career at VHIO, a Center of Excellence backed by first class core technologies and a broad training portfolio in one of the best translational, preclinical and clinical research centers in Europe.    VHIO has a unique staff of international researchers who are devoted to delivering on the promise of providing precision medicine in oncology and turning discoveries in cancer research into more effective treatments and better practices to care for our patients.

Fellows recruited through this call will benefit from an exciting scientific environment and an integrated training programme, including access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, lectures and seminars, specialized scientific and technological courses, complementary skills training and career development activities, as well as social activities.

In this call, we do offer 8-10 fully funded scholarships for international Life Sciences & Medical students who want to pursue a PhD at VHIO in the following labs:

  • Alena GROS, PhD – T Cell Therapy | T Cell Receptor | Tumor Antigen | Public neoantigen | Response to Immunotherapy
  • Fran MARTÍNEZ-JIMÉNEZ, PhD –  Computational Immuno-Oncology | Cancer Genomics | Transcriptional Remodelling | Genomic-Transcriptomic Interplay | Tumor Cell Deconvolution | Metastasis.
  • Joan SEOANE, PhD – Brain Cancer | Immune system/Inflammation | Tumor Microenvironment | Liquid Biopsy | Patient-Derived Models
  • Jose Antonio SEOANE, PhD – Computational Biology | Epigenetics | Methylation | Data Science | Machine Learning | Exposome
  • Marcos MALUMBRES, PhD – Cell Cycle-Targeted Therapies | Breast and Gynecological Cancers | Lung Cancer | Cancer Cell Biology | Chromosomal and Genomic Instability
  • Mate MAUS, PhD – Aging | Senescence | Iron | Myeloid Leukemia | Tumor Immunology | Immunosenescence | Hematopoiesis
  • Raquel PÉREZ, MD PhD – Deep-learning integrative modelling  Foundation Models | Radiomics | Biomarkers | Response Prediction
  • Tian TIAN, MD PhD – Pancreaticobiliary Tumors | Tumor progression | Patient-Derived Models | High-throughput Screening | Next-generation Therapies | Biomarker Discovery

Eligibility criteria

Candidates should fulfil the following eligibility criteria at the time of the call deadline. If it becomes clear before, during or after the evaluation phase that one or more of the eligibility criteria have not been fulfilled, the proposal is declared ineligible and is withdrawn from any further examination.

  • The call is open to candidates of any nationality.
  • Candidates must have obtained a University Degree and a Masters Degree in biomedical/medical sciences within the European Higher Education System (minimum 300 ECTS) or an equivalent University Degree that allows to start a PhD thesis in Spain. Candidates who expect to be awarded with such degree by September 2025 are eligible to apply.
  • Candidates must have an excellent academic record, previous research experience and a strong commitment for scientific research.
  • Candidates must have a high working knowledge of English
  • Candidates invited to previous VHIO PhD call interviews are not eligible
  • Candidates performing their Masters at VHIO are not eligible
  • Candidates may not have worked at VHIO for more than 3 months before the call deadline

In case of doubts about the eligibility criteria, applicants should contact the VHIO Academy (academy@vhio.net) prior to submitting the application.

How to apply
  • Applications must be submitted online through our online application system.
  • The online application form requests all of the necessary information for the initial stages of the selection process (General information, Education, Coursework, Honours, scholarships, prizes and awards, research experience, scientific interests and the details of two referees)
    If the academic transcripts are not in Catalan, Spanish, French, Italian or English applicants should also attach a translation in one of the above-mentioned languages.
  • Two reference letters will be automatically requested to the referees proposed by the candidate through the online system.
  • Applicants should select a maximum of 2 labs in which they would like to work.
  • Candidates must ensure that all information is included by the call deadline, including the reference letters. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.

Once the application is submitted, an acknowledgement of receipt will be automatically sent by e-mail to the applicant. APPLY HERE
For any additional information, please check the FAQs and/or contact the VHIO Academy at academy@vhio.net

Selection process

Candidates will be selected based on their merits by an external evaluation committee through a two-step selection process: remote screening of the applications (November 2024) followed by in person interviews (Early February 2025).

  • Pre-selection: The pre-selection will be based on the candidate’s CV, reference letters and on the research interests. Complete applications will be reviewed within
    a week after the call deadline.
  • Oral interviews: We will conduct interviews at VHIO Barcelona. Full details regarding the interview process will be sent to short-listed candidates short after the application deadline. Full details regarding the interview process will be sent to invited candidates 3 weeks after the application deadline.
  • Notification to candidates: Offers will be made to the successful candidates short after the interview period. Successful candidates would be expected to start the
    PhD between September – December 2025.

More details are included in the CALL TEXT

Fellowships Available

Selected PhD students will receive a 4-year work contract with a competitive salary following the applicable national regulations. All PhD students will receive full health and occupational insurance coverage and will be included in the Spanish Social Security System.

Call Calendar

Call opening: 14  October, 2024
Call deadline: 29 November, 2024
Oral interviews: Early February, 2025
Final results and candidate notifications: Mid-February, 2025
Start date of the fellowships: September – December 2025

Contact

For any additional information, please contact the VHIO Academy at: academy@vhio.net

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