PROJECT: EU Horizon 2020 Teaming Phase 2 project: "Baltic Biomaterials Centre of excellence - BBCE" grant agreement No. 857287.

ANNOUNCEMENT AND OUTLINE OF THE POSITIONS

The BBCE project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme (WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019: Teaming Phase 2) calls for applications of 3 partly funded Established Researcher positions, with attractive complementary training activities and multidisciplinary and international scientific environment. The successful candidates will learn how to perform full cycle of biomaterial development, how to write high impact original research and review articles, on research metrics and ethics, quality system, experimental planning, entrepreneurship skills, intellectual property strategy development at early stage biomaterials research, on translational research and exploitation of the research results.

Location of the positions

Rudolfs Cimdins Riga Biomaterials Innovations and Development Centre of Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia.

International networking opportunities

The positions include participations in short-term training visits in world leading research centers within the network - AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Yearly meetings (summer schools and symposia) of the complete network are also foreseen.

Positions start

Starting date is negotiable but tentatively between January and March 2021.

RECRUITING ORGANIZATION

BBCE coordinating institution - Riga Technical University (RTU) is one of the oldest institutions of higher technical education in Eastern Europe. RTU gathers more than 16000 students, staff of 611 people for research and 572 for teaching, currently is the top 1 University in Latvia in terms of scientific potential and it is ranked among the top 651–700 Universities worldwide. Rudolfs Cimdins Riga Biomaterials Innovation and Development Centre of RTU (RTU RBIDC) is the biggest and the most modern biomaterial research centre in the Baltic States. RTU RBIDC research team consists of 30 scientists with background in chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science. The main areas of RTU RBIDC research activities include training and research on synthesis of calcium phosphates, preparation of inorganic/organic composite materials, bone cements, and upscaling of chemical engineering processes for bone regeneration purposes. Additional research fields include drug/ion delivery systems and nanostructured implant composites with drug eluting properties. The biomaterials developed at RTU RBIDC have been tested in clinical practice for more than 15 years in more than 400 patient cases.

THE SCIENTIFIC AND FORMATIVE CHALLENGE OF THE BBCE PROJECT

The overall objective of the BBCE is to develop a joint centre for advanced biomaterials development based on the long-term strategic cooperation between Riga Technical University, Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Rīga Stradiņš University and LLC Rīga Stradiņš University Institute of Stomatology, on the one part, and AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, on the other part. Strategic research direction of Baltic Biomaterials Centre of Excellence (BBCE) is development of patient specific personalized solutions for bone regeneration in 3 levels: biomaterial composition, geometry and bioactive compound delivery. Full cycle of biomaterials for bone regeneration development consists of continuous steps: 1. Development of biodegradable, osteoconductive and osteoinductive materials, composites and drug delivery systems. 2. Preclinical in vitro/in vivo investigations. 3. Clinical trials.

1. 

AVAILABLE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Within the scope of BBCE project currently there are 3 Established Researcher positions available in development of biomaterials for bone regeneration, more specifically development of biodegradable, osteoconductive and osteoinductive materials as well as composites and drug delivery systems for bone regeneration, with the following envisaged research groups and topics:

1. Group 1 – Calcium phosphates and composites (calcium phosphate (CaP) nanoparticles, nanosuspensions, granules, bone cements, CaP/biodegradable polymer (e.g. PLA, PCL, hyaluronic acid) composites, gradient materials and hydrogels (CaP/polymer) for bone tissue regeneration.
2. Group 2 – Drug/ion/cell delivery (controlled drug delivery systems for bone regeneration - local drug, biopharmaceutics and functional ions, cell delivery systems (antimicrobials, bisphosphonates, growth factors, anti-inflammatory agents, functional ions and combinations of drugs/ions etc.).
3. Group 3 – Materials in vitro (cellular responses, fundamental mechanisms that govern cell-biomaterial and cell-cell interactions, novel materials for bone regeneration and their in vitro behaviour).

SKILLS/QUALIFICATIONS

DUTIES AND RESPONSABILITIES:

1. Responsible for the tasks in complex projects.
2. To explain the outcome of the research and summarize them in to the high impact scientific publications.
3. Creates new international connections outside the BBCE network.
4. Participates in the national/international project proposal preparation.
5. Participates in the national/international project proposal preparation as well as in short term trainings delivered by Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany or AO-Forschungsinstitut Davos (ARI), Switzerland depending on the scientific topic.
6. Supervision or co-supervision of students.
7. Participates in the teaching activities of students.

NECESSARY COMPETENCES:

1. Conducts research independently which advances a research agenda.
2. Can take the lead in executing collaborative research projects in cooperation with colleagues and project partners.
3. Publishes papers as lead author, organises workshop or conference sessions.
4. Makes a positive contribution to the development of knowledge, research and development through co-operations and collaborations.
5. Identifies appropriate research methodologies and approaches.
6. Be capable of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
7. Has demonstrated a systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of research associated with that field.
8. Takes ownership for and manages own career progression, sets realistic and achievable career goals, identifies and develops ways to improve employability.

DESIRABLE COMPETENCES:

1. Establishes collaborative relationships with relevant industry, research or development groups.
2. Communicates their research effectively to the research community and wider society
3. Is innovative in their approach to research.
4. Can form research consortia and secure research funding / budgets / resources from research councils or industry.
5. Is committed to professional development of their own career and acts as mentor for others.

BENEFITS, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, SELECTION PROCESS

EMPLOYMENT TERMS AND BENEFITS:

Established Researchers will undergo yearly performance assessment related to their research activities (including: e.g. participation in BBCE training programmes, papers published, competitive funding applications submitted and funding attracted, supervision of students, technology transfer activities performed). Initially, up to 2-year contract will be offered with a potential renewal for another 1-2 years. Contract involves part time job with 3 - 6 working hours per week with annual gross salary in range of €2000 – €6000. The Established Researchers annual gross salary will be subjected to all local taxes, social benefits and other deductions following the national regulations. If successful candidates will be eligible for election as scientific personnel of RTU, they will benefit 40 working day vacations annually. Health insurance must be covered by applicants themselves.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

1. Doctorate degree (PhD) holders, who have developed a certain level of independence.
2. At least 10 publications in the field.
3. Experience in implementation of scientific research projects.
4. Experience on supervision/co-supervision of First Stage Researchers and students.
5. Excellent/good oral and written English language skills (at minimum B2 level).
6. Experience in team work.

SELECTION PROCESS FOR RECOGNISED RESEARCHERS:

Candidates are asked to apply on-line and the application must include:

1. CV in English (Europass format, max. 5 pages).
2. A motivation letter in English (max. 2 pages, indicating envisaged research groups).

All documents must be submitted to bbcentre@rtu.lv before December 14th, 2020 5.00 PM (CET).

For additional information please contact Prof., Dr.sc.ing. Janis Locs (janis.locs@rtu.lv) and Assoc. Prof., Dr.sc.ing. Dagnija Loca (dagnija.loca@rtu.lv) and visit https://bbcentre.eu and http://vkti.rtu.lv/en. The selection procedure will be based on two steps: the first step will consist on the screening of all applications received and on the selection of a shortlist of candidates based on their CV and motivation letters; the second step will consist of an interview (held in person or Skype/ZOOM), at the end of which successful candidates will be recruited.

When applying for a competition, the candidate agrees to the processing of his personal data pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/95 / EC / 46 / EC .

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