15 PhD positions in the MSCA Doctoral Network DECODES: Deciphering the Splicing Code in Human Disease

Grant Agreement No. 101312753

Alternative splicing (AS) is a fundamental post-transcriptional mechanism that enables a single gene to generate multiple protein isoforms, dramatically expanding proteomic diversity. Dysregulation of AS is now recognised as a hallmark of human disease, contributing directly to cancer progression, neurodegeneration, metabolic syndromes, and numerous rare genetic disorders. Despite major technological advances, the translation of AS biology into clinical benefit remains limited by critical gaps in mechanistic understanding and by the absence of an integrated framework capable of driving discoveries from molecular insight to therapeutic intervention.

DECODES, coordinated by the University of Santiago de Compostela, unites leading European scientists with highly complementary expertise to establish a coherent, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral research programme that bridges fundamental RNA biology with clinical and industrial translation. At its core, DECODES is a high-level doctoral programme that will provide advanced, multidisciplinary training spanning computational genomics, structural biology, disease modelling, RNA biochemistry, medicinal chemistry and pharmacological screening.

Embedded in a fully international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral environment, the programme will equip 15 Doctoral Candidates with state-of-the-art research expertise, comprehensive transferable skills and entrepreneurial competencies through structured coursework and immersive industrial secondments.

By integrating these diverse disciplines into a unified pipeline for the discovery of pathogenic isoforms and the development of precision splicing-targeted therapies, DECODES will push the boundaries of RNA splicing research and train a new generation of scientists uniquely prepared to become future leaders in academia, biotechnology and translational medicine.

The 15 positions are distributed among the DECODES beneficiaries as follows:

• DC1 @University of Southampton (UK) - Prof. Diana Baralle
• DC2 @University of Basel (Switzerland) - Prof. Dr. Mihaela Zavolan
• DC3 @University Pompeu Fabra (Spain) - Prof. Manuel Irimia
• DC4 @Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM) (Portugal) - Prof. Maria Carmo-Fonseca
• DC5 @Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) - Zurich (Switzerland) - Prof. Dr. Frederic Allain
• DC6 @Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (HMGU) (Germany) - Prof. Michael Sattler
• DC7 @University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) - Prof. Marta Varela Rey
• DC8 @University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) - Prof. Ashwin Woodhoo
• DC9 @IMol Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) - Prof. Maciej Ciesla
• DC10 @Centre for Genomic Regulation (Spain) - Prof. Juan Valcárcel
• DC11 @Southern Denmark University (Denmark) - Prof. Brage Storstein Andresen
• DC12 @University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) - Prof. Ashwin Woodhoo
• DC13 @Leiden University Medical Center (Netherlands) - Prof. Annemieke Aartsma-Rus
• DC14 @Astra Zeneca Sweeden (Sweden) - Dr. Christian Leon
• DC15 @University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) - Prof. Maria Isabel Loza García

Benefits

• DECODES fellows will be employed according to the rules applicable to Doctoral Candidates in the 2025 MSCA Doctoral Networks Working Programme and the general regulations of the relevant recruiting participant.
• The financial package will include the monthly allowances applicable under the 2025 MSCA Doctoral Networks Working Programme, during 36-month contracts, subject to the applicable country correction coefficient and the conditions defined by the relevant host institution:
• Living Allowance: 4,010€/month
• Mobility Allowance: 710€/month
• Family Allowance (if applicable): 660€/month
• Special Needs Allowance (if applicable)

* Values should cover gross salary and institution’s employment costs, depending on every hosting country.

Eligibility criteria

• Supported researchers must be Doctoral Candidates (DCs), meaning that they must not already hold a doctoral degree nor have successfully defended their doctoral thesis at the date of recruitment.
• Recruited researchers may be of any nationality and must comply with the MSCA mobility rule. At the time of selection by the host organisation, researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting participant for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before recruitment. Short stays, such as holidays, are not taken into account.
• Secondment Readiness: Candidates must be fully willing and able to relocate internationally for secondments (research stays) at other academic or industrial partner institutions within the network.

Selection process

The selection procedure will be open, transparent, merit-based and aligned with the European Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers and the applicable MSCA Doctoral Network requirements.

Candidates should submit the following documents as one single PDF file via email to mscadn.decodes@usc.gal for one to maximum three positions indicating their preference.

The email subject should be "DECODES_*number of DC positions in order of preference (e.g. '1,5,8')_YourSurnameName"

• a detailed CV
• a motivation letter
• transcripts of bachelor’s and master’s degrees
• and a B2 English certificate (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, or equivalent)

We will choose the candidates that fit the most in the different projects in the following steps:

• Eligibility check: the recruitment committee will verify that applications are complete and that applicants meet the eligibility criteria.
• Remote evaluation: each eligible application will be assessed by the appropriate evaluators and/or principal investigators according to the requirements of the selected projects. The principal investigators will select up to four candidates per position to pass through to the following stage.
• Online Interviews: short-listed candidates will be invited for an online interview. Those who have been positively evaluated but not initially called for interviews will be put on a reserve list. Short- listed candidates will be interviewed by their potential supervisor (i.e. the supervisor responsible for the research project of interest), two additional supervisors from the network, and a member of the recruitment committee.
• Notification of selection outcomes: candidates will be informed of the outcome. Selected candidates will then be put in contact with the corresponding principal investigator and the HR Department of the hosting institution to initiate the hiring procedure.
• Candidates who receive a positive evaluation but are not initially selected may be placed on a reserve or waiting list to cover possible renunciations, subject to the applicable recruitment rules.

Recruitment calendar

• Call opening: August 25, 2026.
• Deadline for applications: October 1, 2026.
• Remote evaluation results: October 10, 2026.
• Interviews: October 10–31, 2026.
• Notification to candidates: November 15, 2026.
• Start date of the fellowship: January–December 2027, according to the individual position and host-institution arrangements.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-details/43108390/101312753
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2023-2024/wp-2-msca-actions_horizon-2023-2024_en.pdf