“la Caixa” / CNIO International PhD Programme, Spain

Deadline: 15 March 2012
Open to: Outstanding young graduate students of any nationality
Scholarship: 10 fully funded four year fellowships

Description

In 2008 “la Caixa” Foundation launched a scholarship programme to offer interdisciplinary training and research opportunities to outstanding young graduate students of any nationality to pursue a PhD project at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO).
The “la Caixa”/CNIO international PhD programme offers cross-disciplinary training in state-of-the-art basic and applied cancer research within an international scientific environment. Ten fully funded four year fellowships will be available in 2012. Candidates should have an excellent academic track record, a solid knowledge of English and previous research experience.

Eligibility

• This call is open to applicants from all nationalities.
• Students holding a university degree (BSc, MSc, Diploma, DEA, Licenciatura, Laurea or equivalent) in biomedical sciences, or who expect to be awarded with such qualification during the first half of 2012, are eligible to apply to the Programme. This university degree should qualify for the start of a PhD thesis in the student’s home country. Non- European university degrees should be equivalent to a European diploma or degree.
• Studies should have been completed no more than two years ago.
• Applicants must have an excellent academic record and previous research experience during their undergraduate period.
• Candidates must have a solid working knowledge of English.
• Co-authorship of publications in MedLine-listed journals will be positively considered.
• Participation in the CNIO Summer training programme will be positively evaluated.
• Individuals may not have worked at the CNIO, at any time, for more than three months before being hired as part of the “la Caixa”/CNIO International PhD Programme. The earliest date of incorporation into the Programme is September 1st of each year.
• The upper age limit for eligibility is 30 years

Scholarship

Students who gain a place in this new programme obtain full financial support during the four years of the scholarship.

Application

Application must be submitted exclusively through the web site. A link to the online application form can be found at here. The application form must be completed in English.

• In the online application process you will be asked to enter your personal data, information regarding your education, your scientific interests and names/contact details of two referees. Moreover, you will be asked to upload all required documents, including your CV and academic certificates. We advise you to prepare all texts (motivation letter, list of publications, etc.) in a text processor and paste them into the application form.
• In the application form you can select, in order of preference, a maximum of three research groups from the list of CNIO groups that are accepting applications in the call. These groups belong to six of the Research Programmes at the CNIO: Molecular Oncology, Structural Biology and Biocomputing, BBVA Foundation – CNIO Cancer Cell Biology, Molecular Pathology, Human Cancer Genetics and Clinical Research. Summaries of their research interests and lists of publications can be found in the CNIO’s 2010 Scientific Report. The Selection Committee will assign successful students to the different research groups at the end of the interview process.
• Use the “publications” text box to include all of your publications (if any). Publications should include the complete title and list of authors (as published) in PubMed format.
• Use the “motivation letter” text box to outline your research interests as well as your skills and knowledge. Also state the reasons why you would like to do your PhD at the CNIO.
• Use the “additional information and comments” text box to include any additional information you consider relevant and you have not provided elsewhere. Also, use this space to make any comment you may have.
• In the application form you will have to give the names and email addresses of two scientists who will write letter of reference on your behalf. You will have to download the “reference letter” form from the web site and send it to two  people who have agreed to act as referees on your behalf. Your two referees must submit their scanned signed letters of recommendation directly to phd@cnio.es.  Alternatively, letters may be also faxed to +34-912246980, to the Training Office. It is your responsibility to ensure that all reference letters are sent to CNIO before the deadline (March 15th, 2012).
• After you have filled out all the required fields on the online application form you will be asked to upload a file containing your CV. You will also be asked to upload an official transcript of records, i.e. your academic certificates.
• All files are preferred in pdf format; doc and rtf formats are also accepted (size below 1MB).
• After having entered all required information you can submit your application by pressing the “Submit” button. After submission you will receive an automatic e-mail confirmation acknowledging receipt. However, remember that your application will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed until all reference letters have been received. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only one application per candidate will be accepted. If more than one application is received from the same candidate, only the last one will be considered as valid.

For more information, or if you have any question about this application, please e-mail phd@cnio.es.
The deadline for submissions is March 15^th, 2012.
The Official Website