Juan de la Cierva Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme

Eligibility:

• Hold a PhD degree, obtained between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2026 (subject to the final conditions published in the official call).
• Meet all eligibility requirements established by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación in the upcoming call website.

Fellowship Conditions:

• Duration: 3 years
• Annual gross salary: €35,700
• Additional research budget: €15,000 for activities directly related to the execution of the research project, including training, networking, mobility, consumables, and other eligible research expenses.

About CNB-CSIC:

The Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), located in Madrid, is one of Spain's leading life sciences research institutes, conducting cutting-edge research in molecular biology, genomics, microbiology, biotechnology, infectious diseases, plant biology, structural biology, and related fields.

A number of leading research groups at CNB-CSIC are currently seeking highly motivated postdoctoral candidates to jointly prepare a Juan de la Cierva application.

Host Laboratories by Department:

Immunology and Oncology

• Novel means of intercellular communication. PI: Rubén García Martín. Key words: Metabolism, intercellular communication, extracellular vesicles, cancer, microRNAs. Desirable expertise for the candidates: Previous experience working with mice. Obtained at least one-first author publication during the PhD (no reviews).
• Nuclear Receptor Signaling. PI: Mercedes Ricote. Key words: Immunity, metabolism, macrophages, transcriptomics, epigenomics. Desirable expertise for the candidates: PhD title in life or biomedical sciences; Publication track record in international peer review journals; Experience in cell cytometry and sequencing technologies; Previous research experience in molecular biology and mouse models will be valued; Additional experience in genomics and/or bioinformatics analysis will be a plus (R and/or Python language); Solid communication skills in English.
• B Lymphocyte Dynamics. PI: Yolanda R. Carrasco. Key words: B lymphocytes, immune synapse, CD40, CD95, humoral adaptive immune response. Desirable expertise for the candidates: PhD in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical sciences, or related fields; Knowledge in advanced microscopy, advanced flow cytometry, bioinformatics, mouse models and other techniques of experimental immunology will be valuable; English level B1 or higher, written and spoken; Holding a first author publication at minimum.
• Tumour Immune Activation and Evasion. PI: Mar Valés-Gómez. Key words: NK cells, NKG2D, extracellular vesicles, BCG immunotherapy, cancer immunology. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Lymphocyte purification and expansion, multiparametric flow cytometry, bioinformatic tools, general biochemical and immunological techniques, first author in scientific publications.
• Nanomedicine, Cancer Immunotherapy and Autoimmune Diseases. PI: Domingo F. Barber. Key words: Nanomedicine, cancer Immunotherapy, iron oxide nanoparticles, nanoparticle-based pro-oxidant therapies, IONPs modified T cells, magnetic hipertermia.
• Signalling by Kinases in Inflammation and Cancer. PI: Ana Cuenda. Key words: Inflammation; Cancer; Metastasis; Microbiota; Immunity; Cell Signaling. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Applicants from a broad range of life science disciplines are encouraged to apply, including biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, biomedicine, pharmacy, genetics, microbiology, immunology, and related fields. Previous research experience in molecular and cellular biology, biomedical sciences, cancer research, immunology, microbiology, disease models, or drug discovery would be advantageous, but specific expertise in all these areas is not required.
• Signaling networks in inflammation and cancer. PI: Santos Mañes. Key words: Cancer Immunity, Immune cell differentiation, Immunotherapy. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Tissue culture, Molecular biology, Flow cytometry, basic Biochemistry, Permission to work with animals.
• Microenvironment and Metastasis. PI: Héctor Peinado. Key words: Metastasis, Microenvironment, Extracellular Vesicles. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Background in cancer biology, tumor microenvironment, metastasis and/or extracellular vesicles. Experience in cell culture, molecular biology and functional assays together with expertise in preclinical cancer models, flow cytometry, imaging and/or omics approaches.

Macromolecular Structure

• Structural determinants of complex virus assembly. PI: Carmen San Martín. Key words: Virus structure, virus assembly, complex viruses, cryo-EM, cryo-CLEM, cryo-electron tomography, protein design, adenovirus, giant viruses, marine viruses, in situ structural biology. Desirable expertise for the candidate: molecular virology, recombinant protein production, cryo-electron tomography, or protein design.
• Microtubule Dynamics. PI: Marina Serna Gil. Key words: Cryo-EM, Image Processing, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Macromolecular Structure, Protein Complexes, Microtubule Nucleation, Tubulin. Desirable expertise for the candidate: A background in protein biochemistry, molecular biology, and/or structural biology would be highly appreciated.
• Biocomputing Unit. PI: José María Carazo & Carlos Oscar Sorzano. Key words: Cryo Electron Microscopy, Image Processing, Structural flexibility, Structural Biology, High Throughput. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Image processing, data analysis, deep learning, programming, engineering, mathematics, physics, computer science.
• Structure and Function of Molecular Chaperones. PI: Jorge Cuéllar & José María Valpuesta. Key words: Molecular chaperones, protein homeostasis, protein folding, protein degradation, structural biology, cryo-electron microscopy, macromolecular complexes, drug discovery. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Expertise in recombinant expression systems and protein production; protein-protein interactions, macromolecular assembly, and complex reconstitution.
• BioComputing Unit. PI: Jose Luis Vilas Prieto. Key words: Image processing, optics. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Programming, Physics.

Microbial Biotechnology

• Ecology and evolution of antibiotic resistance: Evolution to tackle bacterial infections. PI: Sara Hernando Amado. Key words: Bacterial infections; antibiotic resistance; collateral sensitivity; fitness costs; compensatory evolution; evolutionary robustness; combinatorial antibiotic therapies; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenpotrophomonas maltophilia. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Extensive background in microbiology and molecular biology; previous experience with evolution assays will be considered an asset.
• Host-pathogen interaction in obligate intracellular bacteria. PI: Damián Lobato Márquez. Key words: Host-pathogen interaction, cell-autonomous immunity, Type IV Secretion System, effectors, Rickettsia. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Cell Biology.

Molecular and Cellular Biology

• Bacteria-based Immunotherapies Against Cancer. PI: Esteban Veiga. Key words: Immunotherapies agaisnt cancer, cellular therapies, bacteria-based therapies. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Immunology (required). Synthetic biology/molecular biology (desired). Cellular therapies (desired).
• Poxvirus and vaccines. PI: Juan García-Arriaza. Key words: Vaccines, virus, immunology, animal models, poxvirus, emerging viruses. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Expertise in virology, immunology and vaccines. Certificate of animal experimentation is highly desirable.
• Molecular Virology Of Pathogenic Plus-Strand RNA Viruses. PI: Pablo Gastaminza. Key words: Flaviviridae, dengue, host-virus interactions, virus genetics, directed evolution, antivirals. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Demonstrated experience in virology, preferably but not mandatory, with previous experience in BSL-3 environments. Other profiles will also be considered, provided that they are highly motivated and demonstrate interest in virology.
• Cerebral Cortex development. PI: Marta Nieto. Key words: Cerebral Cortex, neurodevelopment, neuronal specification, cognition, corpus callosum, circuit development, interneurons, pyramidal neurons, nervous system disease. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Experience with mouse models.
• Effect of Viral and Host Factors on Innate Immunity, Respiratory Virus Replication and Pathogenesis. PI: Marta López de Diego. Key words: Virus-host interactions, innate immunity, host factors, interferon and inflammatory responses, virus pathogenesis, antivirals. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Desirable experience with animal models of infection, virology, molecular biology.
• Replication, Virus-host Interactions and Protection in Coronaviruses. PI: Isabel Sola & Sonia Zúñiga. Key words: Virus-host interactions, innate immunity, host factors, interferon and inflammatory responses, virus pathogenesis, antivirals. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Desirable experience with animal models of infection, virology, molecular biology.

Plant Molecular Genetics

• Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Plant Resistance Against Phytopathogenic Bacteria. PI: Selena Giménez Ibañez. Key words: Genetics, molecular biology, evolution, plant immunity, Marchantia, crop protection. Desirable expertise for the candidates: Plant genetics and molecular biology.
• Plant bio-factories as a sustainable source of high-value compounds. PI: Eduardo González-Grandío. Key words: Plant synthetic biology, biotechnology, metabolic engineering, gene editing, prime editing. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Strong background in gene editing, bioinformatics and/or metabolic engineering. Does not need to be plant-specific.
• Light Signalling and Plant Adaptation to the environment. PI: Sandra Fonseca. Key words: Light signalling, plant adaptation, environmental stress, signalling networks. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Experience in plant genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry.
• Jasmonate Signalling in Plants. PI: Andrea Chini. Key words: Plant signalling pathway, trasncription regulation, plant specilised metabolites, plant defence, stress tolerance, plant evolution. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Previous experience in Plant Molecular Biology, system biology and research on the bryophyte model Marchantia polymorpha would be a plus.

Systems Biology

• Systems Biotechnology. PI: Juan Nogales. Key words: Systems Biotechnology, Metabolic Modelling, Synthetic Biology, Microbiome Engineering, Synthetic Microbial Communities, Population Heterogeneity, Adaptive Microbial Systems, AI-Driven Biotechnology. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Chemical and Biological Engineering, Laboratory Automation, Biofoundry Technologies, High-Throughput Experimentation, Metabolomics, Multi-Omics Analysis, Population Heterogeneity Analysis, Systems Biotechnology.
• Evolutionary Systems Genetics. PI: Alejandro Couce. Key words: Experimental evolution, mutation rate, fitness landscapes. Desirable expertise for the candidate: PhD-level expertise on bacterial genetics and genomics, research articles as first-author, demonstrable international mobility.
• Integrative Biology. PI: Alberto Pascual García. Key words: Microbial Ecology and Evolution, Microbial Consortia Biotechnology, Computational and Theoretical Biology, Protein structure evolution, Physics of complex biological systems. Desirable expertise for the candidate: Our group is multidisciplinary, describe briefly where your skills are, and where you want to improve.

📩 Interested candidates are invited to send their CV, motivation letter, and preferred host laboratory to ocpi@cnb.csic.es.