Research Fellowship

Scientific Area: Biomedical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Biotechnology or related fields

Recipient category:

The open position is intended for candidates holding a Master's degree who, on the date of their hiring, prove their enrolment in a non-degree course.

Requirement for granting the fellowship:

• The applicants may apply without prior registration in the course for which the fellowship is open. The requirement to enrol in a non-degree course will be verified on the date of contracting the fellowship;
• Only fellowships whose selected applicants present a valid proof of enrolment in a non-degree course issued by a Higher Education Institution will be contracted, according to the type of the fellowship, indicating, its duration (start and term).

Applicant's eligibility: Candidates who meet the conditions set out in Article 9 of the Research Grant Regulations, No. 950/2019, of 16-12-2019, of FCT I.P. are eligible.

Nationals or citizens of other European Union member states, third-country nationals, stateless persons, and citizens with political refugee status are eligible to apply for this competition.

Candidate admissibility requirements:

Mandatory requirements:

• Candidates must possess, at the date of application, a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biological Engineering, Biotechnology, or related fields.
• Not to exceed, with the execution of the scholarship contract in question, including possible renewals, a cumulative period of two years, consecutive or intermittent, of a research grant intended for graduates or master's degree holders enrolled in a non-degree awarding program;

Requirements in the contracting phase:

Preferential factors:

• Experience in scientific research;
• Knowledge in clinical microbiology;
• Knowledge in handling clinical samples and pathogenic microorganisms;
• Knowledge in cell line culture;
• Knowledge in molecular biology, specifically in microRNA extraction and amplification.

Workplan and objectives to be achieved: The work plan aims to consolidate the scientific training of the scholarship holder within the scope of a non-degree course. Thus, the main objective of the fellowship is to identify diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) through the analysis of microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles secreted into vaginal fluid. To achieve this, the main tasks to be carried out by the selected candidate will be:

• Laboratory simulation of VVC using vaginal cell lines and Candida isolates;
• Microbiological analysis of clinical vaginal fluid samples;
• Extraction of miRNAs from simulated infection samples and clinical samples;
• Analysis of miRNA expression by RNAseq and qPCR.

Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Fellow Statute (EBI), approved by Law nº. 40/2004 of August 18, in its current wording and FCT Research Fellowship Regulation, approved by Regulation nº 950/2019, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, of December 16, 2019, in its current wording, and Scientific Research Fellowship Regulation (RBIC) of the University of Minho, approved by order nº 4998/2025, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, nº 81, of April 28, 2025 Amended and republished through amendment statement no. 634/2025/2, published in the Official Gazette, 2nd series, no. 132, of July 11.

Host/Contracting institution and scientific supervision: The workplan will be carried out in the Centre of Biological Engineering of University of Minho, located in the University of Minho, Campus of Gualtar, in Braga, under the direction of Doctor Nuno Miguel Dias Cerca, coordinator of the host entity, and whose scientific guidance will be the responsibility of the Doctor Bruna Fernandes Gonçalves.

Fellowship duration: The grant will take place for a period of 6 months, with a provisional starting date in January 2027.

The fellowship grant may eventually be renewed within the limits established for each type of fellowship and cannot exceed the maximum duration of the project and if the project is extended.

Amount of the research grant: The amount of the grant corresponds to 1359.64 €/month, according to the table of values of Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P.) grants in the country and the table of values of Scientific Research Grants of the University of Minho, updated annually by decision of the Management Board.

Payment is made on the 23rd of each month, through bank transfer to the Bank Identification Number of the fellow identified in the contracting process.

Other benefits: Reimbursement of Voluntary Social Security (Social Security contributions), corresponding to the 1st level of discounts (for research grants with a total duration 6 months or higher) and personal accident insurance.

Exclusivity regime: The grantee will perform the activities under exclusivity, as foreseen in article 5 of the Research Fellow Statutes and applicable regulations.

Selection panel: The jury will be composed of three effective members and two substitute members.

President:

Bruna Fernandes Gonçalves, Junior Researcher at the Centre of Biological Engineering at the University of Minho;

Effective members:

Sónia Carina Morais da Silva, Assistant Researcher at the Centre of Biological Engineering at the University of Minho and

Mariana Contente Rangel Henriques, Assistant Professor with Habilitation, at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Minho;

Substitute members:

Isabel Soares Carvalho, Assistant Researcher, at the Centre of Biological Engineering at the University of Minho and

Ângela Maria Oliveira de Sousa França, Assistant Researcher, at the Centre of Biological Engineering at the University of Minho

The first effective member or the second effective member in the event of the first member's inability, will substitute the President of the selection panel in case of impediment, with these members being replaced by the designated substitute members.

Criteria and procedures for applications assessment and selection: The applications assessment will focus on the candidate's Merit, following evaluation criteria, valued on a scale of 0 to 5 values and will include an interview for the first 3 classified candidates, who obtain a minimum classification of 3.0 in the AM.

Applicant Merit - AM (70%):

A1 - Academic path (considering the classifications of academic degrees), with a weighting of 45%;

A2 - Personal curriculum (considering professional and scientific background), with a weighting of 45%

A3 – Motivation letter, with a weighting of 10%.

Interview – INT (30%):

B1 - Interpersonal competences, with a weighting of 20%;

B2 - Demonstrated knowledge in the area of the competition, with a weighting of 40%

B3 – Motivation, with a weighting of 30%

B4 – Language skills, with a weighting of 10%

The final classification of the applicant's merit will be achieved through the following formula:

FC = (A1 x 0.45 + A2 x 0.45 + A3 x 0.1) x 0.7 + (B1 x 0.2 + B2 x 0.4 + B3 x 0.3 + B4 x 0.1) × 0.3

Candidates with a score of less than 3.5 points in the FC criterion will be excluded.

In the event of a tie in the final classification, the fellowship grant will be awarded to the candidate who obtains the best classification in parameter INT.

Notes:Applicants with degrees obtained abroad must present proof of recognition of qualifications in Portugal and conversion of the final classification obtained in them to the Portuguese classification scale or declaration under the terms indicated in the previous point. Candidates who do not comply with one of these provisions, the selection panel will assign "0" in the grade of the graduation and/or master course. Candidates will be evaluated on the remaining parameters.

Application deadline and submission:The call for applications is open for a minimum period of 10 working days after the notice publication.

Applications must be submitted, mandatorily, by email to bolsas@ceb.uminho.pt, indicating the reference of the call - CEB-BI-49-2026 -, in the subject line. Only applications submitted within the established deadline and accompanied by the following documents will be accepted:

a) Candidate's updated curriculum vitae;

b) Certificates of the academic degrees obtained or, if applicable, the candidate's declaration of honour that he/she has completed the degrees required in the notice by the application deadline (Annex I).

For degrees obtained abroad, the record of recognition of the academic degrees and record of the conversion of the respective final classification to the Portuguese classification scale must be presented, or, alternatively, a declaration of honour from the candidate.

This declaration must attest to facts that occurred prior to the application. In the event of a discrepancy between the information contained in the declaration and the documentation submitted for the purposes of contracting the scholarship, only the information contained in the latter will be considered. If it is found that the documents proving the academic degree and diploma, or their recognition under the terms of Decree-Law n. º 66/2018, of August 16, do not correspond to the classifications awarded in the assessment of the academic career and may consequently alter the candidate's ranking, the scholarship will not be contracted;

c) Statement proving that meets the conditions for the grant typology, according to the application requirements (annex II);

d) Motivation letter;

Form of publication/notification of results: The results of the evaluation will be published through an ordered list by final grade obtained on the site of the Centre of Biological Engineering of UMinho (https://empregoceb.wordpress.com/) or posted in a visible and public place of the host unit, as well as by email to all applicants, enclosing for that purpose, the minutes of the jury deliberations, within a maximum period of 90 working days from the deadline for submission of applications.

Candidates are informed, at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code, of the likely outcome of the final decision, and may comment within 10 working days of this notification.

An appeal may be lodged against the final decision within 15 working days, or an appeal may be lodged with the highest executive body of the funding entity within 30 days, both after the respective notification (Article 12 (nº 6) of the FCT Research Grant Regulations).

Within 10 working days of notification of the grant award, the applicant must declare their acceptance in writing. In case of non-acceptance, the next highest ranked applicant will be notified immediately.

Constitution of a selection reserve list:The applicants ranked in the next positions on the ordered list will be included in a selection reserve list, which can be used until 01/03/2027.

Fellowship contractualization: The fellowship is awarded through the signing of a contract between the University of Minho and the scholarship recipient, in accordance with point 2.4 of the Rules for the Award and Management of Scholarships https://www.fct.pt/wpcontent/uploads/2022/03/Normas_de_Atribuicao_de_Bolsas_2021.pdf and the draft contract in Annex II of the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulations.

The contract can only be signed after receipt of all the documentation required for the type of scholarship, which must occur within a maximum period of 6 months, including proof of academic degrees or diplomas, as well as enrolment in non-degree study cycles or courses, as applicable.

Once all the documentation has been received, the contracting entity has 60 working days to sign the scholarship contract. Once received by the scholarship holder, the contract must be returned, duly signed, within 15 working days.

Term and cancellation of fellowship contracts:Without prejudice to the other grounds laid down in the University of Minho's Scientific Research Scholarship Regulation and in the Research Fellow Statute, the scholarship will cease on completion of the contracted work plan, as well as on expiry of the period for which it was granted or renewed.

The final report must be submitted to the scientific advisor, in accordance with the defined objectives and evaluation criteria, no later than 60 working days after the end of the scholarship and must be drawn up in accordance with Annex I of the Regulations of the University of Minho.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: UMinho promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, whereby no candidate may be privileged, benefited, harmed or deprived of any right or exempt from any duty due to, in particular, of ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, origin or social condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and union membership.

ANNEX I

Declaration of Honor

Academic habilitations

I, XXXXXX (Full name), applicant to the research fellowship vacancy under the R&D project "Exploring microRNAs as biomarkers for vulvovaginal candidiasis", published on the portal, with the reference CEB-BI-49-2026, declare on my honour to have completed the academic degree of XXXXX(academic degree), qualifying for the type of scholarship in the competition, namely the course XXXXXXX (name of the course), concluded in the University of XXXX, on the XX/XX/XXXX (conclusion date), with the final grade of XX values on the YY scale.

As it is not possible for me to present proof of qualifications until the end of the competition, I declare that I undertake to present the aforementioned certificate until the date of the contracting phase of the fellowship contract, in the event that I am selected for the vacancy in the competition.

As this is true, this declaration will be dated and signed by me.

(Place), (date).

(Full name)

ANNEX II

Declaration of Honor

History of Research Grants

I, XXXXXXX (Full name), bearer of identification document number XXXXXXX, applicant to the research fellowship vacancy under the R&D project "Exploring microRNAs as biomarkers for vulvovaginal candidiasis", published in the portal with the reference CEB-BI-49-2026, hereby declare that until now have never received any research grant under the Research Fellow Statute.

Or

have received the following research grants under the research fellowship statutes.

(fill in as appropriate):

University | Financing Entity | Project | Type of fellowship/Reference | Duration (Months) | Start | Term

As this is true, this declaration will be dated and signed by me.

(Place), (date).

(Full name)

Where to apply

E-mail: bolsas@ceb.uminho.pt

Requirements

Research Field: Engineering » Biomedical engineering — Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field: Biological sciences » Biological engineering — Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Specific Requirements: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Additional Information

Benefits: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Eligibility criteria: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Selection process: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Additional comments: Details are described in the "Offer description" section

Website for additional job details: http://empregoceb.wordpress.com/