Exciting Doctoral Opportunities in a European Research Network on Water in Biology

Exciting Doctoral Opportunities in a European Research Network on Water in Biology

This doctoral training programme offers an exceptional opportunity for highly motivated candidates to pursue cutting-edge research on the role of water in biological systems. The projects span diverse disciplines including membrane transport, structural biology, biophysics, synthetic chemistry, and biomedical applications.

Applicants should hold, or be close to completing, a Master’s degree in biophysics, physics, biochemistry, biomedical sciences, pharmacy, biology, chemistry, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, or a closely related field. The selection process places particular emphasis on:

• Documented academic engagement and achievement through coursework, research, awards, or scholarships
• A growth mindset combined with strong problem-solving abilities, analytical thinking, and independence
• Strong communication, presentation, and collaboration skills
• Proficiency in written and spoken English
• Compliance with mobility rules: candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host country for more than 12 months within the three years prior to the recruitment date (short stays such as holidays or compulsory national service are excluded)

Required application documents include:

• Contact details of two referees willing to provide letters of recommendation upon request
• Copies of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates (or transcripts if the Master’s degree is pending), including grades
• Any available publications or conference contributions

A list of the available research projects is provided below and further details can be found in the link to the projects

Studies how solutes and water interact in transporters like SGLT1/SGLT2, focusing on water flux inhibition or facilitation.

Explores how water reduces energetic costs of protein insertion into membranes via translocons and the effect of dielectric permittivity.

Simulates fusion between membranes and nanoparticles, focusing on water’s role in the energy landscape and fusion facilitation.

Develops a tool to measure water permittivity inside protein channels using fluorescence and labelled proteins.

Creates synthetic water channels mimicking biological systems for applications in biomimetics and medicine.

Designs strategies to block or protect gland water channels during radioligand therapy.

Builds a 3D bioprinted model to study AQP5 deregulation in Sjögren’s syndrome and test peptide-based therapies.

Analyzes STING protein’s proton channel function and ligand interaction through structural and functional studies.

Develops graph-based analysis and simulations to understand water-mediated drug binding in receptors and transporters.

Investigates how confined water influences transport in mitochondrial carriers, using simulations and reconstitution.

Measures water movement through various channels using fluorescence-based single-molecule techniques.

Explores hydration’s effect on substrate transport and drug binding in weak acid/base transport proteins.

Simulates two proton transfer mechanisms in ANT1 protein and their dependency on water and oligomerization.

Uses nonlinear optics to study hydration and ion effects on fusogenic lipid systems.

Analyzes hydration shell asymmetry and dynamics around transporters in nanodiscs under ligand-induced changes.

Applies SH light scattering to replace chemical methods in pharmaceutical aggregation and solubility testing.

To help us process applications efficiently and avoid spam, we kindly ask you to attach a document specifying the project you are applying for. Please ensure that the final file in your application is clearly named according to the relevant project code.

For this MSCA Call, valid project codes are: DC1–DC13 and ADC1–ADC3.

We look forward to receiving your application!

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Fill out the form below to apply for this position. First name * Last name * Email address * Phone number * Nationality * Country * A motivation letter * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF Curriculum vitae * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF Contact details of two referees willing to provide letters of recommendation upon request * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF Copies of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree certificates (or transcripts if the Master’s degree is pending), including grades * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF Any available publications or conference contributions * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF Project 1 - 16 * Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, RTF

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Job details

Title

Exciting Doctoral Opportunities in a European Research Network on Water in Biology

The project exploits the interdisciplinary opportunities envisaged by the partners by bringing together researchers with distinct scientific backgr...