Local recruitment: Predoctoral position in WATERsense: Ultrasensitive nanoplatform enabling on-site and continuous water pollutant detection based on analyte fingerprinting via EURAXESS

Universitat de Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain 🇪🇸

Offer Description

Gene therapy – changing or replacing faulty genes to prevent, treat or cure diseases – has shown tremendous promise in many areas but exploiting its full potential has faced challenges. The EU-funded GeneH project aims to create an excellence hub in gene therapy focused on life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases that are considered incurable. The project’s core academic partners in Portugal and Slovenia have successful partnerships with industry, hospitals, policymakers, ecosystem/innovation supporters and patient associations. Through a cross-sectoral, multidimensional approach, the team will tackle challenges in research and development, translation, investment, regulatory and ethical issues while also providing educational and training programmes and engaging with society. Ultimately, GeneH plans to pave the way to clinical trials of innovative gene therapies.

Tasks: 

  • Synthesis of magnetic, plasmonic, and magneto-plasmonic hybrid nanomaterials.
  • Morphological, structural, magnetic, and optical characterization of the synthesized nanomaterials.
  • Determination of the optical and magnetic properties of selected nanomaterials.
  • Transfer of selected hybrid nanomaterials to aqueous media.
  • Surface functionalization of selected hybrid nanomaterials.
  • Analysis of the SERS signal from the functionalized nanomaterials.

Gross Salary per year: €20.163,48

The application period is from 23 June to 7 July 2025.

Where to apply

Website: https://t.ly/bRv7r

Skills/Qualifications

Hold a BSc/MSc in Chemistry and fulfil the requirements to be admitted into the Nanociences PhD program (HDK11) at the Universitat de Barcelona.

https://www.ub.edu/escoladoctorat/en/access-and-admission/access-pathways-and-requirements

Specific Requirements

  • Experience in the synthesis of magnetic nanomaterials using chemical synthesis procedures.
  • Experience in morphological (TEM), structural (XRD), and magnetic (SQUID) characterization.
  • Experience in optical properties analysis.
  • Experience in the transfer of nanoparticles to aqueous media and in the study of their colloidal stability (DLS-ZP).
    • Experience in the surface functionalization of nanoparticles.

Additional Information

Benefits

A full-time work contract (37.5 hrs/week). The researcher will have the possibility to participate in teaching activities for professional development (not obligatory, though).

Eligibility criteria

A specific committee will evaluate the applications using the following criteria:

  • Grade point average of the academic transcripts from the applicant’s bachelor’s or master’s degree studies (or 1st and 2nd cycle): up to 5 points out of a total of 10.
  • Curricular merits: up to 1 point out of a total of 10 in accordance with the specific criteria listed in Annex 1.
  • Suitability for the tasks to be performed within the framework of the research project or research support position to which the successful candidate will be attached: up to 4 points out of a total of 10.

Selection process

The specific committee will agree upon an award proposal and draw up a prioritized shortlist of candidates who have achieved a minimum of five points or declare the call for applications null and void if none of the applicants reach the minimum score. 

The award proposal will be published in the UB’s electronic office and must include the total scores of the candidates that have received a total of at least five points.

Application Process:

According to the specific requirements and selection criteria, the candidates are expected to provide at least the following documents

•   Application form

  • Full CV

•    BSc and MSc academic transcripts

Additional comments

The candidate proposed for hiring must accept the job offer within 5 working days from the date of notification of the selection.

Be aware that the starting date sets in this offer is an estimate date. The official starting date will depend on the time necessary for administration to prepare the labour contract and present the necessary documents for the selected candidate to be hired.

Priority will be given to people with disabilities (Law 89/2015 of June 2, reserve of quota 2% in favour of people with disabilities in companies of 50 or more people).

For additional information regards this offer, please, contact Dra. Marta Estrader Bofarull (martaestrader@ub.edu)

12 days remaining

Apply by 7 July, 2025

POSITION TYPE

ORGANIZATION TYPE

EXPERIENCE-LEVEL

DEGREE REQUIRED

IHE Delft - MSc in Water and Sustainable Development