VIRO-FLOW is a recently funded Horizon 2020 project that aims to integrate the advantages of continuous flow chemical synthesis with in vitro microfluidic bioassay technologies for the fast and efficient discovery of inhibitors of hepatitis B virus (HBV). www.viro-flow.eu
The research programme is composed of three closely related projects in the fields of medicinal chemistry, molecular biology/ protein biochemistry and computational chemistry, and will provide exceptional training in drug discovery and enabling technologies for three Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs).
The ESRs will be supported by a network of experts at AiCuris, an infectious disease-focused biotech company, and the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), a research center working on catalysis, with a special focus on sustainability (functionalization of small molecules, renewable energies, new uses for light in chemistry) using an integrated approach. ICIQ is highly committed to knowledge and technology transfer to the chemical, pharmaceutical and energy industrial sectors.
The ESR training will include international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial mobility, and will integrate academic and industrial contributions.
Studentships will be granted for three years, with fellows spending eighteen months at ICIQ (Tarragona, Spain) and eighteen months at AiCuris (Wuppertal, Germany), within an industrial doctorate programme. Fellows will receive:
- Close mentoring, supervision, guidance and support by a wide network of acclaimed researchers and experts at both ICIQ and AiCuris
- When at ICIQ, the students will by integrated in the Pericàs Laboratory/ERTFLOW, with ample expertise in catalytic flow chemistry
- A personalized doctoral career development plan
- A training program for scientific as well as transferable skills
- Significant exposure to working within the pharmaceutical industry
- A monthly gross salary of 2907€ plus a family allowance, if applicable. Spanish taxation and social security deductions will apply.
ESRs will be fully equipped with the practical and intellectual skills necessary to pursue successful careers in scientific research, especially rapidly emerging fields that require novel multidisciplinary technological development.
Formal enrolment will be into the PhD program at the University of Rovira i Virgili (URV) (Tarragona) with one supervisor at ICIQ and one supervisor at AiCuris.
Further details:
PhD Scholarships, ICIQ - Institut Català d'Investigació Química, Spain (2018)