Description of the Institution:

The UPV/EHU (www.ehu.es) is a teaching and research institution officially founded in 1985. It is the leading research institution in the Basque country, placing it among the world’s 400 top universities, according to Shanghai Ranking. The university employs over 7.000 people throughout 20 centers distributed in its three campuses with over 45.000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The UPV/EHU has been recognised as International Excellence Campus by the Spanish Government. The UPV/EHU gathers 290 research groups with a scientific output of over 35 articles per week in journals in the first quartile and 45% of the publications in competitive journals (WoS and Scopus) are the result of international collaboration.

In the FP6, UPV/EHU participated in over 40 projects and in the FP7 it has participated in more than 100 projects. Most of the projects are in the field of Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new production technologies (NMP) followed by projects in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Health.

Up to March 2019, the UPV/EHU is the beneficiary of 28 MSCA-IF (7 GF and 21 EF) and 22 collaborative MSC actions (10 ITN and 12 RISE), nine of them coordinated by the UPV/EHU. Overall, 100 projects were granted in H2020, including 6 ERC Grants.

Description of the center:

The Instituto Biofisika (IBF) is a joint center between the Spanish Council of Research (CSIC) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (http://biofisika.org/). It is a Basque Excellence Research Center (BERC) as determined by the Basque Government due to the quality of research and infrastructure it contains. Since 2016 this center is located in a new building (of 9.000 m2) in the Scientific Park of Leioa (University of the Basque Country) that provides cutting-edge facilities. It host 29 faculty investigators developing research lines related to protein and membrane biophysics, 15 postdocs, more than 10 technicians and provides training opportunities to about 25 PhD students.  In the center, they have carried out many projects funded by the Basque Government, Spanish Government, European Union, National Institutes of Health, etc. Since 2009, Instituto Biofisika as a whole has more than 500 scientific publications in prestigious international journals and currently has more than 30 active research projects. It is at the forefront in the field of biophysics providing a multidisciplinary environment where several areas of expertise (physics, biology, chemistry) meet, creating a unique and internationally-recognized research center.

Description of the research group:

Our research has a strong translational relevance and centers around unraveling the structure and function of proteins linked to hereditary forms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). In the case of AD our focus is on the membrane protein Presenilin and in PD our research revolves around Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2. These enzymes constitute definable targets for studying the molecular bases of these diseases and the development of new therapeutic strategies. We mainly employ cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) for protein structure determination in combination with biophysical and functional studies to obtain mechanistic insight. The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research fund our research. The laboratory was awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER award and has experience in attracting successful Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellows.

The laboratory is fully equipped for all aspects of molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology. In addition, through our membership of the New York Structural Biology Center (NYSBC, www.mysbc.org) we have direct access to high-end cryo-EM instrumentation.

Potential applicants

Applicants must be Experienced Researchers (ER), at time of submission (11 September 2019); be in possession of a PhD; or have at least 4 years of full-time equivalent research experience (please read call guidelines). Researchers cannot have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the call deadline. There are no restrictions on age or nationality. Grant is awarded to the host organization.

How to apply?

Candidates must have a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural Biology or an appropriately related field. Strong research experience in structural biology is a requisite. The candidate must be able to think independently and work cooperatively. They should comply with the call eligibility criteria and provide:

     -CV – max 5 pages.

    -Motivation letter – describing academic achievements and research expertise, focusing on those aspects relevant in the context of the corresponding project. Max 1 page.

    -Contact information of two referees.

Please send your applications to Dr. Iban Ubarretxena Belandia at iban.ubarretxena@gmail.com indicating MCSA-IF 2019 in the subject line before the 14th of July.