Apply for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026 with Wroclaw Medical University

Wroclaw Medical University is looking for the candidates for the MSCA European Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 which are expected in the Horizon Europe program. We are already encouraging interested and experienced researchers with a PhD, willing to work in Poland for 2 years, to send their expression of interest. Please send your offers by March 17, 2026.

Wroclaw Medical University (WMU) is one of the leading research and teaching centers in Central and Eastern Europe and has been ranked as the best Polish university among the top institutions worldwide by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025, WMU educates over 6,600 students, including many international ones, across six faculties: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, Nursing and Midwifery, and Physiotherapy.

WMU conducts numerous Phase I–IV clinical trials in cooperation with national and international partners, advancing evidence-based medicine. It collaborates with over 200 institutions worldwide, participates in the EUGLOH network, and publishes research widely in Q1 journals. The Institute of Heart Diseases, led by Prof. Piotr Ponikowski—one of the most renowned experts in cardiology—is a cornerstone of WMU. Recognized as a center of excellence in cardiology and cardiac surgery, the Institute has established an outstanding international reputation, particularly in the field of heart failure. Its researchers form the core of the editorial board of ESC Heart Failure, the official journal of the European Society of Cardiology, thereby playing a leading role in shaping global scientific discourse.

Organisation

Wroclaw Medical University (WMU)

Department

Institute of Heart Diseases, Department of Cardiovascular Imaging

Name of supervisor:

Prof. Wojciech Kosmala MD, PhD

Description

We invite motivated postdoctoral researchers to collaborate with us on developing a proposal for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Project title:

Multimodal Imaging Markers Across the Tricuspid Regurgitation–Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction– Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Spectrum: Cross-Sectional Characterization and Longitudinal Prediction of Symptomatic Transition

Background:

Emerging evidence suggests that the interplay between heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) begins far earlier than traditionally assumed. This project explores the full continuum of this relationship—from subtle, early‑stage abnormalities to advanced disease.

We focus on patients who present with functional TR without an obvious cause, a group in whom unrecognized LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) may be driving disease progression and adverse outcomes. Growing data indicate that TR severity and LVDD reinforce each other over time, creating a bidirectional cycle of worsening cardiac function.

The coexistence of at least moderate TR and LVDD exerts a synergistic effect inconferring clinical risk. Understanding this synergy may open new avenues for earlier detection, risk stratification, and targeted intervention.

Objectives:

• To characterize structural, functional, and tissue-level imaging markers—using echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)—across the spectrum of TR and LVDD/HFpEF, and to validate the continuity of association between TR severity and LVDD/HFpEF burden.
• To identify clinical, imaging, and biomarker predictors of transition from asymptomatic stages to symptomatic heart failure in patients with TR and/or LVDD/HFpEF.

Eligibility Criteria

Doctoral degree: The researcher must be in possession of a doctoral degree (PhD) at the call deadline.

Candidates of any nationality

Mobility: The researcher may not reside or conduct their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Poland for a period longer than 12 months within the 36 months immediately prior to the call deadline.

Research experience (full-time equivalent) Maximum 8 years from date of award of the (first) doctoral degree.

Duration of the grant From 24 months 

Contact Prof. Wojciech Kosmala, MD, PhD,

E-mail: wojciech.kosmala@umw.edu.pl

How to apply:

Before submitting your application to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship call, please send the following documents to the contact below:

• A detailed CV (including publication list)
• A draft of your research proposal (5 pages max)
• A short motivation letter explaining your interest in being hosted at WMU
• One academic reference letter.

Please send any administrative or formal questions to the coordinator from the university office: wojciech.kosmala@umw.edu.pl or projekty@umw.edu.pl

For more information about the University please visit the website: https://www.umw.edu.pl/pl

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