Juan de la Cierva 2026 Postdoctoral Fellowship - Call for Expressions of Interest

University of Barcelona; España; Hybrid; EUR 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Teleworking possible

International research collaboration

Living in Barcelona

Competitive salary and social security

Job summary

The University of Barcelona invites expressions of interest for a Juan de la Cierva 2026 postdoctoral fellowship in the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab (BCN-AIM). The postdoc will work on Trustworthy AI for cardiovascular medicine, including federated learning and multimodal AI, under an internationally collaborative environment.

The successful candidate will join a multidisciplinary team, contribute to research outputs, and advance their independent research career within a dynamic

Qualifications

• PhD completed between 2024-2026 (inclusive) as per call requirements.
• Must apply to a host institution other than where predoctoral training was completed.
• Must not have previously benefited from Juan de la Cierva or equivalent.
• If participated in 2025 call, must have score ≥50 and not be excluded.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research in AI for cardiovascular medicine.
• Collaborate with BCN-AIM team to develop methods and applications.
• Prepare and submit the Juan de la Cierva 2026 application with the host group.

Skills

Research skills

Mobility

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

PhD in CS/AI/Math

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Barcelona Department Mathematics and Computer Science Research Field Computer science Engineering Other Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 15 Nov 2026 - 12:00 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab (BCN-AIM, www.bcn-aim.org ) at the University of Barcelona welcomes expressions of interest from outstanding early-career researchers wishing to apply for a Juan de la Cierva 2026 postdoctoral fellowship, with BCN-AIM as their prospective host research group.

The Juan de la Cierva programme, funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI), provides funding for three-year postdoctoral research positions at Spanish research institutions. The fellowship offers an excellent opportunity to develop an independent research career within an internationally recognised and multidisciplinary research environment.

Proposed research line: Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence for Cardiovascular Medicine

The successful candidate will contribute to research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cardiovascular medicine, with particular emphasis on federated learning, multimodal AI, generative AI and medical imaging.

The specific research direction will be discussed with the selected candidate, taking into account their background, expertise and research interests.

Eligibility requirements

Candidates must satisfy the eligibility criteria established in the official Juan de la Cierva 2026 call, including:

• Have obtained their PhD between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2026, subject to the extensions allowed under the call.
• Apply to a host institution different from the centre where they completed their predoctoral training, in accordance with the mobility requirements.
• Not have submitted an application for the Ramón y Cajal 2026 call.
• Not have previously benefited from a Juan de la Cierva or equivalent predecessor fellowship.
• Candidates who participated in the Juan de la Cierva 2025 call must have obtained a score of at least 50 points and must not have been excluded for irregularities in their application.

Deadline for expressions of interest: 15 November 2026, 12.00 (CET).

Please note that the official deadline for candidates to submit their Juan de la Cierva 2026 applications through the AEI application platform (for applications hosted by the University of Barcelona) is 26 November 2026, at 14:00 CET.

Selection process

• Pre-selection: Candidates will be assessed based on their academic and research track record, motivation, relevant expertise and overall suitability for the proposed research line.
• Interviews: Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online or in-person interview.
• Fellowship preparation: Selected candidates will work with the host research group to prepare and submit their Juan de la Cierva 2026 application.

Please note that the fellowship is awarded through a competitive national evaluation process and that pre-selection by the host research group does not guarantee funding.

Salary: A three-year, full-time employment contract with a gross annual salary of €31,200, in accordance with the Juan de la Cierva 2026 call, including Spanish social security coverage.

What we offer

• The opportunity to join a dynamic and internationally recognised research group at the forefront of AI for healthcare.
• Research opportunities in cutting-edge areas, including federated learning, generative AI, medical image and video synthesis, foundation models and trustworthy AI.
• Collaboration with leading academic institutions, hospitals and international research consortia.
• An international and multidisciplinary research environment.
• Opportunities to contribute to European and national research projects and high-impact scientific publications.
• Flexible working arrangements, including the possibility of teleworking.
• The opportunity to live and work in Barcelona, one of Europe's most vibrant and attractive cities.

About BCN-AIM

The successful candidate will join the Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Lab (BCN-AIM, www.bcn-aim.org ), based at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Barcelona. Our team brings together more than 30 enthusiastic academics, researchers, students and research managers, with expertise in data science, machine and deep learning, biomedical informatics, trustworthy AI, and health-related applications. The research group has an established track record in coordinating and participating in European and international projects (18 projects, more than 12 million Euros over the last 5 years) in biomedical data science and medical AI (e.g. EuCanImage, euCanSHare, EarlyCause, LongITools, HealthyCloud, RadioVal, DataTools4Heart, Youth-GEMs, HappyMums, AIMIX, AI4HF, YOUTHreach, DVPS, AIXPERT, AFRICAI-RI, AIFIX, STAGE).

About the institution

The University of Barcelona (UB), founded in 1450, is one of the oldest universities in Spain. It comprises a student body of 84,370 and 4,548 research staff members. With 73 undergraduate programs, 273 graduate programs and 48 doctorate programs, UB is the largest university in Barcelona and Catalonia. The UB is ranked the first Spanish university according to several rankings (QS World University Rankings 2022, Shanghai Ranking 2022). It is particularly interested in fostering international relations and, for many years, has managed an average of 150 European projects per year. The University of Barcelona is part of the prestigious “League of European Research Universities (LERU).