A Research Fellowship (BI) (Reference REQUIMTE 2023-44) on the project PTDC/QUI-OUT/1401/2020 “Murderous Venom- Towards a Universal Antidote Against Snakebite”  supported by national funds by FCT/MCTES, is available at REQUIMTE under the following conditions:

Main research field: Computational Chemistry

Admission requirements: Master's degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or related areas and enrollment in a doctoral program or enrollment/attendance of a non-degree course taught by a higher education institution in conjunction with an R&D unit in chemistry or related areas. Experience in molecular simulations in the field of molecular dynamics and homology modeling.

In case the Master degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 341/2007 of October 12th, and all formalities established therein must be complied with at the signature of Fellowship contract.

Working plan: the candidate will perform molecular simulations of transmembrane proteins associated with nociceptive pain and study the mechanism of ion transport through transmembrane proteins. The techniques to be used will be homology modeling and classical molecular dynamics, both simple and enhanced sampling.

Applicable Legislation: Law nº.40/2004, 18th August (Research Fellow Statute) amended and republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 123/2019, 28th August; FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.pt).

Work Place: The work will be conducted at the Faculty of Sciences of Porto, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, under the supervision of Profs. Pedro Alexandrino Fernandes e Maria João Ramos.

Duration: The fellowship will have a duration of 6 months.

Monthly stipend:

Monthly stipend is €1.199,64 according to the stipends established by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (https://former.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/valores.phtml.pt). Payment will be made by bank transfer on a monthly basis. The successful candidate will also be entitled to the reimbursement of Social Security payments (Seguro Social Voluntário) and work insurance.

Selection criteria: The selection methods will be:

1.            Average of bachelor's degree (3/5) and master's degree (2/5) - (40%), or Average of integrated master's degree - (40%)

2.            Experience in homology modeling and molecular dynamics of proteins (20%).

3.            Experience in the simulation of transmembrane channels (20%).

4.            Experience in snake venom toxin studies (20%).

In the case of admitted candidates whose evaluation does not differ more than 15% from that obtained by the best positioned candidate, the jury will interview the best positioned candidate and the candidates in this situation. In this case, the interview will have a weighting of 25%

The jury will not award the current scholarship to candidates with a final classification lower than 50%.

Jury composition:

Pedro Alexandrino Fernandes (President),

Maria João Ramos (vowel),

Alexandre Lopes Magalhães (vowel),

Pedro Oliveira Ferreira (substitute vowel).

Publicity and communication of results: The ranking of applications will be published at a visible and public area of REQUIMTE facilities, and all candidates will be informed by email about the result of their application.

Application:

The call for applications is open between 18/07/2023 and 31/07/2023.

The applications are formalized at the electronic address bolsas@iceta.up.pt, containing in the subject the reference to which the candidate is applying (Reference REQUIMTE 2023-44) with following documents in a digital form, in PDF format and will include Curriculum vitae, Motivation letter, Qualifications Certificate, and other documents deemed relevant.

More information: https://www.requimte.com/