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

Announcement: PhD researcher (PhD) part-time position available within research area of drug delivery systems

Location of the position:

Rīga Stradiņš University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Riga, Latvia.

International networking opportunities:

The position includes participation in short-term (up to 14 days) and/ or long-term (up to 6 months) training visits in world leading research centres within the consortium – AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Yearly meetings, summer schools and symposia of the complete consortium are also foreseen.

Position starts:

Starting date is negotiable, but tentatively between September and October 2022.

Recruiting organization:

Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) is the leading academic and research institution in the field of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, rehabilitation, and nursing sciences in Latvia. It is ranked among top 1000 universities in the world, with the highest rating in international student ratio and academic reputation. The University has close affiliation with leading hospitals in Latvia, and about a quarter of all the students (currently more than 2100 international students) come from more than 50 countries. RSU uses a modern quality improvement approach to ensure high study and research quality. The priority research areas are different fields of clinical medicine, as well as biomedicine, rehabilitation and public health. RSU Faculty of Pharmacy is currently running a project to set up a new Finished Dosage Form (FDF) Laboratory to promote research in pharmaceutical technology. It is planned that the lab will be set up in 2022 and it will gradually expand its research area from oral solid dosage forms to biomaterials as drug delivery systems. Within the BBCE project, the FDF lab will be involved in research on carrier particles, kinetics of active molecule release and stability of drug delivery systems, as well as material characterization, processing, and quality control of the finished products.

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.

Available position:

Within the scope of BBCE project currently, there is one PhD part-time position available in research of kinetics and stability of drug delivery systems (BBCE Research Group 4).

Outline of the position:

The BBCE project, funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme (WIDESPREAD-01-2018-2019: Teaming Phase 2) calls to apply for a PhD part-time position, with attractive complementary training activities in multidisciplinary and international scientific environment. Successful candidate will have an opportunity to be a part of the research group, consisting of the Group Leader/ leading researcher and at least one PostDoc and one PhD student established within the BBCE, as well as to be a part of multidisciplinary and international scientific network.

Employment terms and benefits:

For PhD student the part time contract will be offered with the obligation to defend the PhD thesis. PhD student will undergo yearly performance assessment related to research and study activities (criteria will include: e.g. exams successfully passed, participation in BBCE training programmes, papers published, co-supervising of bachelor and master thesis, assisting in teaching). Initially, a 4-year contract will be offered to the PhD student with a potential renewal for another 1 year. Contract involves part time job with 13 - 32 working hours per week with annual gross salary in range of 5 179.20 EUR - 16 538.21.00 EUR. The PhD annual gross salary will be subjected to all local taxes, social benefits and other deductions following national regulations (https://www.fm.gov.lv/en/s/taxes/). Health insurance must be covered by applicants themselves.

Eligibility criteria (requirements and necessary competences):

The PhD position is open to applicants of all nationalities fulfilling the following eligibility requirements:

1. The candidate must have master or equal degree in pharmacy.
2. The candidate must be the author or co-author of an international scientific publication.
3. Good knowledge and practical experience on chromatography methods (TLC, HPLC), spectroscopic methods (FTIR, XRF, LIBS, ICP-MS), spectroscopic data statistical analyses and/or scientific computing (R, MatLab, Phyton, SIMCA, ORIGIN) will be considered as advantage.
4. Excellent oral and written English language skills (at minimum B2 level).
5. Good communication and team working skills.
6. Ability to carry out the independent research under the BBCE scope and to produce the data under supervision.

Duties and responsibilities:

1. Applicant should successfully pass the exams of PhD Program and defend PhD thesis.
2. Applicant should be able to explain outcomes of the research and summarize them into the high impact scientific publications. Each year 1 high impact scientific publication should be submitted and published.
3. Applicant should yearly participate in BBCE organized training seminars, summer schools of high impact scientific writing organized at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany and at least in one international scientific conference.
4. Applicant should participate in at least one up to six-months long training visit to AO-Forschungsinstitut Davos (ARI), Switzerland, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen Nuremberg, Germany or other project partners depending on the scientific topic.
5. To participate in the national/ international project proposal preparation (attracting competitive/ contract funding).
6. To participate in BBCE internal and external international networking events.
7. To supervise and/ or co-supervise students’ research and theses.

Desirable competences:

1. Ability to carry out research under supervision.
2. Ambition to develop knowledge of research methodologies and discipline.
3. Deep understanding of the study field.
4. Ability to produce data under supervision.
5. Capability of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.

Selection process for the PhD position:

Candidates are asked to apply on-line for the above-mentioned PhD position. The application must include the following:

1. CV in English (Europass format, max. 5 pages, including list of publications (if any)).
2. Copy of a valid ID document (passport or equivalent).
3. A motivation letter in English (max 2 pages), including statement that the applicant fulfils all eligible criteria listed in the paragraph above. The statement that the applicant is eligible to apply for work permission in Latvia should be included in the motivation letter.
4. Degree transcripts (MS or equivalent).
5. Letters of recommendation (at least two).

All documents must be submitted to bbcentre@rtu.lv before July 26, 2022 5.00 PM (CET).

For additional information, please contact bbce@rsu.lv and visit https://bbcentre.eu and https://www.rsu.lv/en. The selection procedure will be based on two steps. The first step will consist of the screening of all applications received and the selection of a shortlist of candidates based on CV, academic transcripts, motivation, and relevance with the specific research project. The second step will consist of an interview (held in person or online via Skype/ Zoom), resulting in the recruitment of the successful candidate. Prior to recruitment, the successful applicant will be requested to produce the original copies of all certificates and documents declared. Incorrect or lacking of documentation may invalidate the recruitment procedure.

When applying for the position, the candidate agrees to the processing of his/ her 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 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) and for storage at Rīga Stradiņš University. Without the consent of the candidate, personal data will not be transferred to third parties, except in the cases specified in the laws and regulations in force in the Republic of Latvia.

/credits to the 1st picture https://leverageedu.com/blog/phd/