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ANNOUNCEMENT Nº12/2026/BPD

National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research, I.P. (INIAV) – Vairão

Research Grant within the scope of the project APTA4shiga - Aptamers for blocking Escherichia coli shiga toxins (COMPETE2030-FEDER-00838600)

The National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research (INIAV) announces the opening of one position for a research grant within the scope of the project APTA4shiga - Aptamers for blocking Escherichia coli shiga toxins, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through COMPETE2030, under the following conditions:

Type of grant: Research Grant (BI) – Postdoctoral

Scientific area: Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biotechnology

Eligibility requirements:

• • PhD in Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biological Engineering, Biology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology or related fields.
• • It is an admission requirement that the doctoral degree must have been obtained within the three years prior to the date of application submission.
• • It is a requirement that the research work leading to the candidate's degree was not carried out at the National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research, I.P. (INIAV).
• • The candidate must not exceed, with the signing of the scholarship contract in question, including any possible renewals, a cumulative period of three years in this type of scholarship, whether consecutive or intermittent.

Preferential factors:

Preference will be given to candidates with:

• • Experience in the areas indicated above;
• • Scientific publications in areas related to the APTA4shiga project;
• • Experience in molecular biology, including conventional PCR and real-time PCR;
• • Experience in aptamer selection methods;
• • Curricular experience with laboratory practice and/or evidence of professional experience in the field;
• • Basic computer skills from a user perspective;
• • Professional rigour and good teamwork skills;
• • Verbal communication skills and fluency in Portuguese and English.

Work plan:

Participation in all activities of the APTA4shiga project, including:

• • In vitro selection of aptamers for Shiga-like toxins of E. coli and determination of their affinity;
• • Evaluation of aptamer libraries, based on data generated by sequencing;
• • Application of bioinformatics tools to predict the structure and introduce modifications in aptamers;
• • Collaboration in the discussion of results;
• • Participation in the organization and dissemination of results.

Scientific supervision: The grant holder will work under the supervision of Principal Researcher Carina Almeida.

Place of work: The preferred place of work will be INIAV, I.P. – Vairão Unit, Rua dos Lagidos, Lugar da Madalena, 4485-655 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal.

Grant regime and duration:

The grant will be awarded under an exclusive dedication regime, with an expected start date in May 2026, and a duration of 12 months, possibly renewable for the same period.

Applicable legislation and regulations:

Statute of the Scientific Research Grant Holder, approved by Law no. 40/2004 of 18 August, amended and republished by Decree-Law no. 202/2012 of 27 August and amended by Decree-Law no. 233/2012 of 29 October, Law no. 12/2013 of 29 January, Decree-Law no. 89/2013 of 9 July and Decree-Law no. 123/2019. Regulation no. 950/2019 of 16 December, which approves the FCT, I.P. Research Grants Regulation, available at https://www.fct.pt/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/, under Decree-Law no. 123/2019 of 28 August, which updated several articles of the Scientific Research Grant Holder Statute.

Monthly allowance:

According to the table of values for Research Grants awarded by FCT in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/), the monthly grant amount is €1.851.00, under Regulation no. 950/2019 of 16 December. The grant is paid monthly by bank transfer. The grant holder will benefit from personal accident insurance and, if not covered by any social protection scheme, may ensure access to social security by joining the voluntary social insurance scheme, under the terms provided in the Social Security Contributory System Code.

Selection methods:

The selection method, of an eliminatory nature, will consist of curriculum evaluation and an interview, if deemed necessary by the jury.

The evaluation criteria will be based on a combined assessment of the following elements (scale of 0 to 10):

QA – Academic qualifications;

EP – Professional training, professional experience and adequacy of the profile;

CM – Motivation letter;

E – If deemed necessary by the jury, an individual interview will be held with the candidates to assess the profile adequacy.

Ranking formula: Final Classification (CF) = 0.6 QA + 0.3 EP + 0.1 CM
or
CF = 0.6QA + 0.2EP + 0.1CM + 0.1E

Candidates with a score (CF) lower than 7.0 points will be excluded.

Selection committee:

The jury has the following composition

President – Doctor Carina Almeida (Principal Researcher, INIAV)

1st effective member – Doctor Ricardo Oliveira (Assistant Researcher, INIAV)

2nd effective member – Doctor Joana Castro (Assistant Researcher, INIAV)

Substitute Member – Doctor Daniela Araújo (Assistant Researcher, INIAV)

Application submission:

Applications must include the following documents:

1. • Detailed curriculum vitae (dated and signed) – mandatory;
2. • Motivation letter (dated and signed) addressed to the Principal Investigator of the project, Doctor Carina Almeida, including the full identification of the candidate and reference to this call no. 12/2026/BPD – mandatory;
3. • Documents (digital copies) proving the most relevant elements and the academic qualifications. Holders of academic degrees awarded by foreign higher education institutions must have their degrees recognized in accordance with Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16, as amended – mandatory;

4. • Other documents the applicant considers relevant for the assessment of their technical and scientific merit.

   
   

Application deadline:

Applications must be submitted within ten working days following the publication of this announcement. All documents must be organised in PDF format and sent exclusively by email to bolsas@iniav.pt, with reference to announcement no. 12/2026/BPD. Applications submitted in person or by postal mail will not be accepted.

Publication of results:

Based on the classification obtained by the candidates, the Selection Committee will rank the applicants. Lists of admitted and excluded candidates, as well as the final classification, will be sent by email to the applicants and posted at the INIAV, I.P. facilities in Vairão.

After publication of the results, candidates are considered automatically notified and may submit comments under the prior hearing procedure within ten working days from the publication date.

At the end of this period, the selected candidate will be notified in writing of the grant award and the effective start date.

In the event of withdrawal or resignation by the selected candidate, the candidate ranked immediately below will be contacted, and so on.

Any questions regarding the application may be addressed to Doctor Carina Almeida
(carina.almeida@iniav.pt).