Post-Doctoral fellowship

Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S); Portugal; On-site; EUR 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Job summary

i3S – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow position in Neuroscience. The project focuses on memory consolidation and reconsolidation, with emphasis on hippocampal networks and entorhinal inputs.

The fellow will implement fiber-photometry, perform stereotaxic surgeries and analyze behavior, contributing to the understanding of memory dynamics. The fellowship is 5 months long, starting December 2026, with potential renewal.

Qualifications

• Must hold a PhD in Neuroscience obtained within the last three years.
• Experience with Python programming and analysis of behavioral videos.
• Experience with electrophysiology in ex-vivo models and animal surgery skills.

Responsibilities

• Support implementation of fiber-photometry system.
• Perform stereotaxic surgeries for viral transfection of neuronal populations.
• Conduct behavioral analyses and collaborate with the team.

Skills

Python programming

Behavioral video analysis

Teamwork

Neuroscience techniques

Education

PhD in Neuroscience (within last 3 years)

Tools

Craniotomy surgery

Stereotaxic transfection

Fiber photometry system

Job description

Organisation/Company Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S) Research Field Neurosciences » Neurology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 9 Nov 2026 - 00:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Research fellowship Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 27 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number Fellow_BIPD/i3S/27100911/2026 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Announcement

Reference: Fellow_BIPD/i3S/27100911/2026

i3s – Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (hereinafter i3) is opening a call to award a grant for the development of R&D activities for a PhD’s with less than 3 years of postdoctorate, within the project “Time present, time past: how time alters memory consolidation and reconsolidation”, refª -2024.15564.PEX, financed by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.

Scientific Area:Neurosciences.

Project Title: “Time present, time past: how time alters memory consolidation and reconsolidation”.

Workplans:

This Project aims at understanding the role of the hippocampus and associated areas in the consolidation and reconsolidation of associative memories. Given the hippocampus’s role in coding time, we hypothesize that activity in the hippocampus and related areas, such as the medial and lateral entorhinal cortex, governs the temporal rules for memory association during consolidation and reconsolidation. Neuronal ensembles in the hippocampus might represent the temporal order of events or represent a gradually evolving temporal context to which memories are bound at appropriate times. In this proposal, we aim to: 1) determine the role of the hippocampal network and cortical inputs from the medial entorhinal cortex in defining the temporal rules of associative memory; 2) assess the impact of previous experiences and individual biases in threat perception; and 3) explore the boundary conditions that regulate memory updating through reconsolidation. To do this, we will use opto and chemogenetic approaches as well as imaging of neuronal activity by fiber-photometry.The fellow will be involved in the implementation of the fiber-photometry system, stereotaxic surgeries for viral transfection of neuronal populations and behavioral analysis.

Admission Requirements:

Mandatory:

• Candidates must hold a PhD degree obtained in the last three years in Neuroscience area;
• License in animal manipulation (by the Portuguese DGAV or equivalent entities) or having completed the animal training course (with certificate);
• Experience in craniotomy surgery and stereotaxic transfection of brain areas by viral vectors.
• Experience in programming such as Python and analysis of behavioral videos;
• Experience in eletrophysiology in ex-vivo models (brain slices);
• Good team work.

The Doctorate beneficiary of this type of fellowship cannot exceed, with the conclusion of the fellowship contract, an accumulated period of three years under this type of scholarship, continuous or not continuously calculated. The calculation of the three years period considers also all the host entities to which the Doctorate has been linked to by a postdoctoral fellowship.

PhD holders of this type of fellowship must also have carried out the research work that led to the attribution of the PhD degree in a host institution other than i3S.

Legislation and other applicable regulations: Research Fellowship Holder Statute enacted by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18th, as amended; i3S Research Grants Regulation.

Place: The research activities will be hosted ati3S, under the scientific coordination ofDoctor Rosalina Fonseca Alvarez.

Length time: The duration of the fellowship is 5 months, eventually renewable. The expected starting date is 1st of December of 2026, upon availability of the financed funds.

Research grants may also include other components, as the voluntary social insurance, under the terms of the Research Fellowship Holder Statute, article 10.

Evaluation Criteria:

Selection will be made by a two-step evaluation. In the first step, curricular evaluation (60%) and motivation letter (40%) will be combined to a final grade (1-100%). Evaluation will be determined considering previous experience in neuroscience techniques as well as background knowledge in neurophysiology. If necessary, the top three candidates will be selected for interview. Final score will be obtained by combining first step evaluation (70% of first sept grade + 30% of interview grade).

Evaluation Pannel: President – Rosalina Fonseca, PhD; other members: Teresa Summavielle, PhD and Diogo Castro, PhD.

Information and Publicity of Funding Granted: The results of the evaluation will be notified by email to all candidates. After notification, candidates have 10 working days to comment and, within that period, a complaint may be submitted by email to [e-mail] .