12 Research Fellowships, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy (2018)

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT is seeking for 12 research fellows to be involved in the highly interdisciplinary 4-year program within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND project “MultIscale precision therapies for NeuroDEvelopmental Disorders MINDED”, funded by the European Commission with the Grant Agreement n. 754490 . The MINDED program will establish a new class of scientists, trained to integrate their knowledge over the fields of nanomedicine, neuroscience and robotics, with the aim of developing new approaches for the diagnosis, imaging and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. The program starts in 2018 at the IIT Central Lab in Genoa (Italy) and involves 16 more institutions based in Italy, Europe, Israel and USA. The MINDED project was awarded € 3.4 million from the European Commission, and co-funded by IIT for a total investment of € 6.8 million.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) represent a huge burden for patients, their families and the overall society. In the European Union, the incidence of autism spectrum disorders is on the rise with more than 100 cases for 10,000 children. This is about ten times larger than the incidence of brain and central nervous system tumors in children. In addition, the lack of effective therapies and the need for lifelong interventions and assistance dramatically affect the national health systems.

MINDED will use a multiscale technology approach, integrating Nanomedicine, Molecular Neurosciences and Cognitive Neuroscience Robotics, for the development of novel diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic interventions for NDDs. Whilst Neuroscience investigates the causes of NDDs identifying biological targets for new and more effective therapies, Nanomedicine allows us to develop devices for the precise and patient-specific delivery of novel therapeutic molecules and contrast agents. Early detection will be improved through the application of robotics for assessing quantitatively sensorimotor and cognitive deficits in NDD patients. Selected MINDED fellows will also benefit of a specific training in business development, to facilitate the clinical integration of biomedical products, through internships at the European Medicines Agency and various EU and US companies.

MINDED fellows will be appointed with a 2-years contract, renewable for 2 more years on meritorious basis. Applicants should hold a Doctoral Degree (or at least 4-years of full-time equivalent research experience), be fluent in English, write a research proposal, and have outstanding career record. Following the guidelines of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, applicants must have not resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Italy for more than 12 months in the last 3 years preceding September 1st 2017.

MINDED is coordinated by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in collaboration with SISSA and University of Bologna in Italy; University of Paris-Sud and CNRS in France; Durham University and University College of London in UK; Universidade do Minho in Portugal, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum of Heidelberg, Max Planck Gesellschaft and Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany; Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands; Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland; Charles River Labs in Finland; Tel Aviv University in Israel; and Stanford University in USA. The project coordinator is Dr. Paolo Decuzzi, head of Nanotechnology for Precision Medicine Lab at IIT and European Research Council (ERC) grantee.

Desired skills and experience
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia – IIT is seeking for 12 research fellows to be involved in the highly interdisciplinary 4-year program within the Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND project “MultIscale precision therapies for NeuroDEvelopmental Disorders MINDED”, funded by the European Commission with the Grant Agreement n. 754490 . The MINDED program will establish a new class of scientists, trained to integrate their knowledge over the fields of nanomedicine, neuroscience and robotics, with the aim of developing new approaches for the diagnosis, imaging and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. The program starts in 2018 at the IIT Central Lab in Genoa (Italy) and involves 16 more institutions based in Italy, Europe, Israel and USA. The MINDED project was awarded € 3.4 million from the European Commission, and co-funded by IIT for a total investment of € 6.8 million.

Further details:
12 Research Fellowships, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy (2018)