Προκήρυξη:

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Innovative Training Network "SINERGIA" looks for 15 motivated early-stage researcher (ESR).

All positions give the opportunity of the enrolment in a PhD program. The contracts will be for 36 months with a competitive salary (the precise amount depends on the Country and family status).

The SINERGIA Network is devoted to the development of novel in vitro preclinical models, based on 4 cutting-edge technologies: bioprintin, organs-on-chip, 3D cell culture and induced pluripotent stem cells. SINERGIA is funded under Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019, grant agreement number: 860715).

The Network comprises 10 beneficiaries and 4 partner organisations from both the academic and industrial sectors from 6 countries (Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Germany and United Kingdom).

The SINERGIA project provides research and training opportunities for early-stage researchers in the field the emerging technologies in drug development and precision medicine. Specifically, SINERGIA aims at improving the dialogue among the main stakeholders in the drug discovery field, and at developing advanced models of human physiology and diseases, to be ultimately introduced in the preclinical stages of the drug discovery pipeline.

SINERGIA’s research programme addresses three investigational areas of the drug development process – namely drug benefit, drug safety and precision medicine – with the aim of bringing advanced models built on innovative Technologies from bench to the pharmaceutical market. SINERGIA research objectives are: i) drug benefit, ii) drug safety, and iii) precision medicine.

Training will be achieved through research and by education. Research training includes Secondments at partner premises, Training by education includes transferable skills training and comprises attendance to both local training activities and network-wide training activities. In addition, ESRs will attend 3 SINERGIA Summer Schools. The ESRs will also have the opportunity to enroll for a PhD.

ESR PROJECTS

We are looking for highly motivated researchers with an excellent academic background in Bioengineering, Chemistry, Material Science, Biology and Physics.

• ESR1 - University of Basel, Switzerland

Developing a miniaturized ex vivo culture system for drug testing on patient-specific tumour specimens.

• ESR 2 - Fakultní Nemocnice St.Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic

Generation of a 3D in vitro model to study cardiac fibroblast contribution to myocardial fibrosis.

• ESR 3 - Maastricht University, Nederland

Kidney fibrosis in vitro model.         

• ESR 4 - Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Switzerland

An in vitro model of skeletal muscle tissue to test anti-fibrotic therapies.

• ESR 5 - Politecnico di Milamo, Italy

 Multi-compartment microfluidic model to improve gut microbiome-mediated immunotherapy efficiency.

• ESR 6 - Maastricht University, Nederland

 Bioprinting of kidney rudiment for drug safety screening.

• ESR 7 - BiomimX, Italy

uHeart: an in vitro human miniaturized model for the detection of drug-induced functional cardiotoxicity.

• ESR 8 - Accelera, Italy

Set-up and preliminary validation of a modular high-throughput microfluidic system for assessing drug toxicity and metabolism in the hepatobiliary environment.

• ESR 9 - MTTlab, Italy

 Validation of in vitro 3D liver model for efficacy and/or toxicology studies.

• ESR 10 - LifeTec Group BV, Nederland

Development of an ex-vivo liver model to study drug treatment.

• ESR 11 - Fakultní Nemocnice St.Anne’s University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic: Generation of a patient-specific in vitro model of cardiac fibrosis for personalized anti-fibrotic drug screening.
• ESR 12 - University of Basel, Switzerland

Engineering a perfusion-based bioreactor system to study metastatic breast cancer interactions with bone microenvironments.

• ESR 13 - Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Switzerland

Microfluidic bone chip to personalize the therapeutic regimen of bone metastatic tumours.

• ESR 14 - Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Germany

Validation of in vitro approaches for precision based medicine.

• ESR 15 - Politecnico di Milamo, Italy

Development of a patient-specific a lab-on-chip cardiac microtissue model of dystrophin deficient cardiomyopathy.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

All applicants must be Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) who are in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers, starting from the date when the M.Sc. degree (or similar) was awarded. They must not hold a doctoral degree.

Persons from any nationality may apply, but transnational mobility is indispensable: You may only apply for a position in a particular project if you did not reside or carry out your main activity (such as work or study) in this country for more than 12 months within the last 3 years. This excludes short stays such as holidays or compulsory national service.

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

The selected candidates will receive a 36-month, full-time employment contract as per Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) regulations for early stage researchers. Marie Curie ITNs provide a highly competitive salary to the ESR, including a generous monthly living and mobility allowance and (if eligible) a monthly family allowance. The exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment. In particular, it consists of:

• living allowance: 3.270 EUR/month (39.240 EUR/year), multiplied by the country correction coefficient of the country where the researcher is recruited:
  • Italy: 104.4%
  • Switzerland: 121.2%
  • The Netherlands: 107.9%
  • Germany: 97.0%
  • Czech Republic: 81.78%
• mobility allowance: 600 EUR/month
• family allowance, if applicable - depending on the family situation at the time when the contract is being concluded: 500 EUR/month

It must be noted that the living allowance is a gross EU contribution to the salary costs of the researcher. Consequently, the net salary results from deducting all compulsory social security contributions (employer and employee) as well as direct taxes (e.g. income tax) from the gross amounts. The rate indicated here is for researchers devoting themselves to their project on a full-time basis.

The mobility and family allowance is a fixed amount, regardless of the country of recruitment, and may be taxable depending on the country in which the researcher is recruited.

HOW TO APPLY

We are looking forward to hearing from you! Please download the application form via this link.

In order for your application to be considered please send the filled application form together with the following documents in English:

• Two-page application letter containing research interests, skills, career plans and the reasons for applying.
• Academic transcript with grade point average
• Certificate proving date of award of degree which formally entitles to embark on a doctorate (if pending, a letter from the institution stating when it is expected to be awarded)
• Full CV including list of publications where applicable, information about timings of previous academic study and employment, and information about nationality/citizenship – please provide sufficient detail regarding where you have resided and/or engaged in work or study between 1st January 2017 and the date of submission.
• At least two letters of reference, or addresses of referees who have agreed to provide a reference (if referees prefer to send the references directly to the SINERGIA consortium, please ask them to be emailed to sinergia2020@polimi.it before the application deadline).
• For applicants from non-English speaking countries, please attach copies of recent English language certificates where available.

All the documents (including the application form!) must be submitted to sinergia2020@polimi.it.

Detailed information to all ESR projects within the network can be found on our website www.sinergia2020.polimi.it. For further information and inquires please contact Prof. Marco Rasponi (marco.rasponi AT polimi.it)

DIVERSITY

Diversity is a core value of SINERGIA. We are an inclusive community, and we believe that diversity and international activities enhance the quality of research and training. We are looking for people who can enhance diversity in our team thanks to their background and experience.

GENDER

Special attention will be paid to gender-equality. Female researchers are strongly encouraged to apply; in case of equal qualification in the recruitment procedure, the enrolment of female candidates will be prioritized.