Friday, March 15, 2013

International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology ICGEB Fellowship Programmes


International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
HUMAN RESOURCES UNIT, PADRICIANO 99, I-34149 TRIESTE, ITALY
TEL: +39-040-3757305, FAX: +39-040-3757379, E-MAIL: fellowships@icgeb.org

The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowships

Application Procedures

•           The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Programmes are open to nationals of ICGEB Member States only, who must submit their application to the ICGEB Liaison Officer in their country of origin for endorsement. Endorsement is an essential prerequisite for acceptance of the application. Only endorsed applications will be transmitted to ICGEB Headquarters for review and final selection.

•           Applications from nationals of ICGEB Member States only must be sent to the ICGEB Liaison Officer (see attached list) in the applicant’s country of origin. Italian nationals should send the complete application directly to ICGEB Trieste.
           
•           Italian, Indian and South African nationals should refer to the “Information and Guidelines” of each individual funding Programme for relevant eligibility conditions.

•           Research activities are held in English and may be undertaken only at the ICGEB laboratories located in Italy (Trieste and Monterotondo, Rome), India and South Africa.   

•           Applicants must contact the ICGEB Group Leader of their choice to ascertain laboratory space availability and obtain a prior agreement on their proposed research project in order to be admitted to selection.

•           Eligibility conditions and deadlines for each individual funding Programme are detailed in the relevant “Information and Guidelines”.  
           
Attach to this application:
•           Curriculum Vitae;
•           Proposed Research Project (including investigation topic/area, problem/hypothesis to be tested, methods/techniques to be used in the investigation as well as details of the applicant’s previous work in the proposed field); 
•           Written Statement endorsing the project and confirming availability of laboratory space from the chosen Group Leader;
•           List of Publications;
•           English Language Proficiency Certificate (such as TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate or equivalent); not applicable when scholastic education has been conducted in English;
•           3 Letters of Recommendation;
•           Any additional information as specified in the individual Funding Programme.



For further information please contact:
ICGEB, Human Resources Unit, Padriciano 99, 34149 Trieste - Italy
Tel: +39-040-3757305, fax: +39-040-3757379, email: fellowships@icgeb.org

The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Postdoctoral Fellowships
Research Groups

ICGEB New Delhi

Mammalian Biology: Recombinant Gene Products • Immunology • Malaria • Structural and Computational Biology • Virology
Plant Biology: Insect Resistance • Plant Molecular Biology • Plant Transformation
• Synthetic Biology and Biofuels

ICGEB Trieste                                                                          

Bacteriology and Plant Bacteriology • Biosafety • Biotechnology Development • Cellular Immunology • Human Molecular Genetics • Molecular Immunology • Molecular Medicine • Molecular Pathology • Molecular Virology • Mouse Molecular Genetics • Neurobiology • Protein Networks • Protein Structure and Bioinformatics • Tumour Virology • Yeast Molecular Genetics

ICGEB Cape Town

Cancer Genomics • Cancer Molecular and Cell Biology • Cellular Immunology • Cytokines and Disease   

ICGEB Monterotondo Outstation – Rome, Italy

Molecular Hematology

Eligibility
Ø         Nationality: Candidates must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State and may not apply for fellowships to be undertaken in the country of their origin. Italian/Indian/South African nationals who are resident abroad may apply for fellowships to ICGEB Trieste/New Delhi/Cape Town respectively, and must provide evidence that they are working/living abroad.
Ø         Degree Requirements: Applicants should be holders of a recent Ph.D. or have at least 3 years’ research experience.
Ø         Age: Preference will be given to candidates below the age of 35.

Period of Support
Ø         up to 2 years.

Return Grant
Ø         During the second year the fellow will be assessed and the concession of a “return grant”, to be utilized in the fellow’s home country, will be considered.

Terms and Conditions of Support
Ø         Stipends:  are calculated to cover the cost of normal living expenses for one person at the location of the individual host institute; married applicants should take special notice of this as no family or dependent allowance is included in the Fellowship.
Ø         Other Training Costs:  Travel to and from the host country; Medical health insurance cover.

Submission of Application
Ø         See the Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Application Form and, in addition, attach the following:
•           Confirmation of research position from the applicant’s home institute and evidence of continuation of present employment upon completion of fellowship, with a formal acceptance to provide a suitable position and relevant laboratory space for at least the entire duration of the “return grant”.

Deadlines
Ø         Complete applications from nationals of ICGEB Member States must be sent to the ICGEB Liaison Officer (see attached list) in the applicant’s country of origin, by 31 MARCH 2013.
Ø         Italian nationals should send the complete application directly to ICGEB Trieste, by 30 APRIL 2013.


The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Pre-doctoral Fellowships
Research Groups

ICGEB New Delhi

Mammalian Biology: Recombinant Gene Products • Immunology • Malaria • Structural and Computational Biology • Virology
Plant Biology: Insect Resistance • Plant Molecular Biology • Plant Transformation
• Synthetic Biology and Biofuels

ICGEB Trieste                      

Bacteriology and Plant Bacteriology • Cellular Immunology • Human Molecular Genetics • Molecular Immunology • Molecular Medicine • Molecular Pathology • Molecular Virology • Mouse Molecular Genetics • Neurobiology • Protein Networks • Protein Structure and Bioinformatics • Tumour Virology • Yeast Molecular Genetics

ICGEB Cape Town

Cancer Genomics • Cancer Molecular and Cell Biology • Cellular Immunology • Cytokines and Disease

ICGEB Monterotondo Outstation – Rome, Italy                       
Molecular Hematology
Eligibility
Ø                     Nationality: Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State; Indian and South African nationals are not eligible to apply for the ICGEB fellowship to attend the Ph.D. Programme in New Delhi and Cape Town, respectively;
Ø         Requirements:
ICGEB Trieste: a B.Sc. (honours) degree is essential (see attached “The ICGEB Trieste International Ph.D. Programme”, section ‘Admission Requirements’);
ICGEB New Delhi: an M.Sc. degree is essential;
ICGEB Cape Town: a B.Sc. (honours) degree is essential;
Good working knowledge of the English language (supported by a proficiency certificate such as TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate or equivalent) is essential as all activities related to the PhD Programme and courses are held in English;
Ø         Age: Candidates must be below the age of 32 years at the time of the closing date (i.e. date of birth after 31/03/81); there is no age limit for ICGEB New Delhi and Cape Town.
Period of Support
Ø         up to 3 years.
Terms and Conditions of Support

Ø         Stipends: are calculated to cover the cost of normal living expenses (annually) for one person at the location of the individual host institute (married applicants should take special notice of this as no family or dependent allowance is included in the Fellowship); fellowships are renewable for the following years providing that the Ph.D. Programme requirements are fulfilled.

Ø         Other Training Costs: Travel to and from the host country; Medical health insurance cover.

 

Ø         ICGEB Trieste: Ph.D. Programme           

Commencement: 1 October 2013                                    

Ø         ICGEB New Delhi: Ph.D. Programme

            • Commencement: 1 August 2013
Accommodation: Hostel is provided on campus on a twin-sharing basis, at a nominal rate, for Ph.D. students only.

Ø         ICGEB Cape Town: Ph.D. Programme

            • Commencement: 1 January 2014
Accommodation: Limited accommodation is available on campus in 2- or 3-bedroomed furnished apartments on a shared basis on conditions to be negotiated with the University of Cape Town. No meals are provided.
Submission of Application
Ø        See the Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Application Form and, in addition, attach the following:
•           Academic results (see attached “The ICGEB Trieste International Ph.D. Programme, section ‘Admission Requirements’).
Deadlines
Ø         Complete applications from nationals of ICGEB Member States must be sent to the ICGEB Liaison Officer (see attached list) in the applicant’s country of origin, by 31 MARCH 2013.
Ø         Italian nationals should send the complete application directly to ICGEB Trieste, by 30 APRIL 2013.


The ICGEB Trieste International Ph.D. Programme


Basic Principles

The ICGEB PhD degree programme provides graduate students with all the necessary means to understand and pursue scientific investigation in life sciences, and aims to develop the capacity for independent thought, critical appraisal, personal responsibility and decision making.
Upon completion of their studies, we expect our students to be in a position where they can apply their acquired knowledge across a wide range of fields within the life sciences. This may involve molecular biologists moving into areas of public health, nutrition and environmental protection/remediation; as biotechnologists they may apply the most advanced techniques in the fields of industrial production of biopharmaceutical products; alternatively it may involve the pursuit of cutting edge academic research.

The teaching and learning structure of this programme includes intensive lab research activities, seminars and communication training during Journal Club sessions, symposia and international meetings.

Student research projects are clearly defined and complementary to the wider research programme of the hosting group, but nonetheless offer the student ‘stand alone’ objectives. The scientific activities of the Centre are broad based and focus on several advanced research programmes that include basic science projects concerned with the control of gene expression, DNA replication, DNA repair and RNA processing, cancer cell biology; studies on human viruses such as HIV, rotavirus, HPV, molecular immunology, molecular genetics, experimental haematology and human gene therapy as well as bacteriology and yeast genetics, protein structure and bioinformatics and plant virology.

Validation of the Degree

The ICGEB International PhD programme at the Trieste Component is validated by the Open University (UK), the University of Nova Gorica (Slovenia) or a suitable national University.

The Ph.D. course offers a three-year postgraduate training with the possibility of obtaining the "Doctor Philosophiae" (PhD) degree in the field of Life Sciences. ICGEB Fellows are automatically registered to the course and are subject to its annual progress performance monitoring.
Candidates wishing to have their degree validated by a University in their country of origin should provide a letter signed by the University concerned to this effect including a brief overview on the PhD course structure and the annual progress monitor reporting duties.
Students reporting to a national University (including Italian ones) for the PhD and working full time in ICGEB must follow the activities of the ICGEB PhD course. If the National University requirements overlap too much with those of ICGEB, exemption of some activities may be considered upon recommendation of the supervisor on a case-by-case basis.

Admission Requirements

ICGEB requires graduate applicant to hold credential that are comparable to a four-year Bachelor’s degree (Hon’s) from an accredited University of the ICGEB Member States. Comparability is determined by a review of the type and name of the degree programme, the student applicant CV and other factors as required by the ICGEB PhD Course Committee.

All applicants must submit a complete credential package by the appropriate deadline. Complete credentials include course transcripts or marks statements for each term or year completed in the degree programme, and the degree certificate or diploma if a graduation date, with the name of the degree, is not shown on the transcript.

In some cases, an initial registration for a master degree only may be required if the credentials are not sufficient and/or the committee considers the preparation of the student not up to standards.

Transcripts and certificates/Diploma (Academic records)
Academic records should give detailed information on all courses/final examinations completed, credit value or hours per course and grades received.
If degree conferral (date, type of degree and major) is not listed on the transcript, the candidate must also provide an official copy of the diploma or degree certificate.
All documents must be issued by the degree-granting University.
If graduation is in the future: submission of all transcripts or semester marks statements for all semesters/years completed to-date is mandatory. If the candidate is admitted to ICGEB, ICGEB requires submission of final University transcripts or marks statements and the University degree certificate or diploma as soon as they are available. 

How to submit Academic Records
Official Documents
Official documents are issued by the degree-granting institution and bear the official seals and signatures of the Registrar, Controller of Examinations or other institutional authority. Official documents may be printed on original security paper or be stamped, signed or attested photocopies. ICGEB understands that, in some rare cases, Universities issue only one set of originals, so copies are permitted as long as the attestations are original. 

English Translations
We require all documents (transcripts, marks statements, degree certificates or diplomas) to be submitted in the original language, accompanied by an English translation of each document.
Some institutions issue original/official documents in English. These are acceptable.
We accept translations issued by the institution or a professional translating service. Translations must be original and must include evidence of status and qualification to translate into English. 
Self-translated documents are not acceptable.
Translations must be literal (word-for-word) translation of each document. The translations must bear an original signature of the translator with date of completion.

Documents We Cannot Accept
English translations prepared by a non-recognized translator, or self-translated documents.

International Transcript Evaluation
ICGEB requires all applicants who have completed degrees outside Europe to submit their transcripts for evaluation before they may be considered for admission to a graduate degree program.

Structure and Educational Goals

Research activity
The core activity of the PhD programme is the experimental laboratory work, which should be the basis for the Ph.D. thesis. Complementary scientific activities and learning programmes are organized throughout the year.

Introductory course
All first-year PhD students receive a one-week extensive course at the beginning of the academic year in order to acquire a common academic background and introduce the various research fields of ICGEB. The Introductory course consists of a series of half-day lectures given by ICGEB scientists.

Scientific training activity
As a complement to the bench work, every academic year a series of scientific research seminars are given by invited international speakers. Participation to at least 24 seminars is mandatory.
In addition, twelve journal clubs are distributed throughout the year, from November to October, each chaired by a different Group Leader. Participation to at least 10 Journal Clubs is mandatory.
Finally, the ICGEB organizes every year a series of International Meetings and Courses on different topics that fall within the interests of the Centre. PhD students are required to attend one course each year selected among the annual ICGEB Meetings and Courses calendar.

The ICGEB New Delhi International Ph.D. Programme in Life Sciences


The International Ph.D. Programme in Life Sciences is organized in collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi. The Programme offers postgraduate training with the possibility of obtaining the “Doctor Philosophiae” (Ph.D.) degree in the field of Life Sciences. 


Life Sciences Programme

Ø         The duration of the Programme is for a period of 3 years.

Ø         The Programme comprises:

•           Experimental research activities under the broad area of Life Sciences, supervised by ICGEB Project Leaders and Principal Investigators. See attached list for areas of research at ICGEB New Delhi.

•           The Ph.D. students are expected to take five courses in six months and pass the relevant examinations. These courses run concurrently with the research and are as follows:

Core
•Advanced Molecular and Cell Biology
•Gene Cloning and Expression
•Laboratory Techniques
Optional (any two)
•Infection and Immunity
•Molecular Biology of Plant Stress
•Chemical Biology and Bioinformatics



Kindly note, Indian nationals are not eligible to apply for the ICGEB fellowship to attend the Ph.D. Programme in New Delhi. They may apply for other two ICGEB Components.

The ICGEB Cape Town International Ph.D. Programme


The International Ph.D. Programme in Life Sciences is offered in conjunction with the University of Cape Town. The Programme offers postgraduate training leading to the “Doctor Philosophiae” (Ph.D.) degree in the field of Life Sciences.

The course is structured as follows and students are expected to participate in all activities:

Introductory Course
At the beginning of the academic year, first-year Ph.D. students will be introduced to the various ICGEB research activities in Cape Town via short lectures delivered by research scientists.

The PhD Thesis
The main activity is the experimental laboratory work, which should be the basis for the PhD thesis. It is expected that the work be completed within a three-year period. The completed thesis must be discussed and defended before a committee composed of professors from the participating Institutions and/or selected specialists in the field.

Seminar Programmes
A series of scientific seminars are offered in conjunction with the University of Cape Town. These seminars are given by invited specialists in the different fields of research and all PhD students are expected to participate fully in the seminars.

Journal Clubs
Journal Clubs and Laboratory progress meetings will be held on a weekly basis and all students are expected to participate actively. During each Journal Club a PhD student/postdoctoral fellow will select and present/discuss selected recent articles from the literature.

ICGEB Annual Courses
As part of the training activities, PhD students are required to attend one course each year (practical and/or theoretical) selected among the Meetings & Courses organised annually by ICGEB.  Students are also expected to assist in the teaching of practical courses that may be offered at the Cape Town Component.
The Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Flexible Fellowships
Short-term Fellowships

Ø         Fellowships will be awarded only for on-going collaborative research between scientists from ICGEB Member States and the research groups at the ICGEB laboratories in Italy, India and South Africa.

Ø   The fellowship may include a stipend, assistance towards travel expenses and, if requested, a small allocation for laboratory consumables for the host group depending on availability of funds; very short visits may not be eligible for a travel subsidy. The fellow may apply for any combination of support by ticking the appropriate box on the Application Form.

Ø         Period of support: 3 to 6 months.

Ø         Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State and may not apply for a fellowship to be undertaken in their country of origin.

Ø         See the Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Application Form for further details.

Ø         There is no fixed deadline.

“Sandwich” Ph.D. Programme

General Information

Ø         This Programme is aimed at students who are involved in a Ph.D. project in their own country that falls within the research fields of an ICGEB Group. Students will be able to carry out some of the research experiments that are foreseen in their own university Ph.D. study plan at the ICGEB laboratories in Italy, India and South Africa, in agreement with both the home supervisor and the ICGEB Group Leader.

Eligibility

Ø         Nationality: Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State and may not apply for a fellowship to be undertaken in their country of origin;

Ø         Requirements: The student must already be enrolled with his home university and have a well-defined project underway with his home supervisor;
            Both supervisor and student should negotiate a research project with a suitable ICGEB Group Leader, which will provide the basis for the application that must also include a detailed schedule of foreseen activities to be carried out both at the home institute and at the host laboratories.

Terms and Conditions of Support
Ø         Stipends while at the ICGEB laboratories (6-12 months) are calculated to cover the cost of normal living expenses for one person at the location of the individual host institute.

Ø         The fellowship will cover the cost of one return ticket (air economy most direct route);

Ø         Medical health insurance cover.

Submission of Application

Ø         See the Arturo Falaschi ICGEB Fellowship Application Form and, in addition, attach the following:
•           Research Project agreed with ICGEB Group Leader and home university supervisor;
•           Detailed Schedule of foreseen activities, at both home institute and host laboratory;
•           Written Statement from the applicant’s home university endorsing this collaboration.

Ø         Complete applications from nationals of ICGEB Member States must be sent to the ICGEB Liaison Officer (see attached list) in the applicant’s country of origin.

Ø         There is no fixed deadline.

ICGEB FIELDS OF RESEARCH


ICGEB New Delhi Component, India

Mammalian Biology:
o     Immunology: Lymphocyte activation, host-pathogen interactions, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, signal transduction, systems biology; Dr. K.V.S. Rao (kanury@icgeb.res.in)
o     Malaria: Characterization of P. falciparum proteins as novel drug targets and vaccine candidates; development of malaria vaccines for clinical trials; design and synthesis of peptide based therapeutics, vaccine candidates and delivery platforms; Prof. V.S. Chauhan (virander@icgeb.res.in)
o     Recombinant Gene Products: Genetically engineered biomolecules of medical use, subunit dengue vaccines, dengue reporter viruses, anti-dengue herbals, RNAi, codon-shuffling, pathogenesis of dengue and tuberculosis; Dr. N. Khanna (navin@icgeb.res.in)
o     Structural and Computational Biology: Protein structure, function and crystallography; Dr. A. Sharma (asharma@icgeb.res.in)
o     Virology: HEV, HIV, host-virus interactions, biomarkers, pathogen detection and discovery, Dr. S. Jameel (shahid@icgeb.res.in)
      
Plant Biology:
o     Insect Resistance: Bacillus thuringiensis, Insectidal proteins, mode of action, mosquito metagenomics, RNAi in insects; Dr. R.K. Bhatnagar (raj@icgeb.res.in)
o     Plant Molecular Biology: Abiotic and Biotic stress, gene expression, helicases, translation, calcium and G-proteins, signalling, crop improvement, transgenics, gene pyramiding, Piriformospora indica, protein structure and RNAi; Dr. N. Tuteja (narendra@icgeb.res.in)
o     Plant Transformation: Transgenic crops with improved agronomic traits, chloroplast genetic engineering, molecular farming, biofuels, cotton genomics; Dr. V.S. Reddy (vsreddy@icgeb.res.in)
o     Synthetic Biology and Biofuels: Metabolic engineering, cellulolytic enzymes, biofuels; Dr. S.S. Yazdani (shams@icgeb.res.in)    

ICGEB Trieste Component, Italy

o     Bacteriology and Plant Bacteriology: Bacterial inter-cellular communication (quorum sensing) in rice associated bacteria; Dr. V. Venturi (venturi@icgeb.org)
o     Biosafety: Development and maintenance of systems aimed at dissemination of information such as databases and web pages; research of new procedures for risk assessment related to the environmental release of GMO’s; D. Ripandelli (biosafe@icgeb.org)  
o     Biotechnology Development: Development of biogenerics; Dr. S. Tisminetzky (sergio@icgeb.org)
o     Cellular Immunology: Dendritic cell biology, priming of adaptive immunity; Dr. F. Benvenuti (benvenuti@icgeb.org)
o     Human Molecular Genetics: Regulation of pre-mRNA processing in human diseases; Dr. F. Pagani (pagani@icgeb.org)
o     Molecular Immunology: DNA vaccines, antibody engineering, anti-idiotypic Abs, dendritic cells, membrane-IgE, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, molecular biology of rotavirus; Dr. O. Burrone (burrone@icgeb.org)
o     Molecular Medicine: Gene therapy of cardiovascular disorders, adeno-associated virus (AAV), angiogenesis, Molecular biology of HIV-1 infection; Prof. M. Giacca (giacca@icgeb.org)
o     Molecular Pathology: Molecular mechanisms of pre-mRNA processing. Defective RNA processing and neurodegeneration. Genetic disease caused by defective splicing; Prof. F.E. Baralle (baralle@icgeb.org)
o     Molecular Virology: Dynamics and regulation of virus-host interactions; Dr. A. Marcello (marcello@icgeb.org)
o     Mouse Molecular Genetics: Transgenic and KO models of genes related to human diseases. Regulation of gene expression through the 3' ends of the mRNAs. Dr. A. Muro (muro@icgeb.org)
o     Neurobiology: Mechanisms of neuronal differentiation, aging, genetic models of neurodegenerative diseases using Drosophila melanogaster; Dr. F. Feiguin (feiguin@icgeb.org)


o     Protein Networks: High throughput proteomics, mass spectrometry, signal transduction, protein-protein interactions, tumorigenesis; Dr. M.P. Myers (myers@icgeb.org)
o     Protein Structure and Bioinformatics: Bioinformatics and systems biology of genomes and proteomes, models of communication and cooperation in biology, NOTCH signaling, network models, protein chemistry; Dr. S. Pongor (pongor@icgeb.org)
o     Tumour Virology: Molecular biology of Human Papillomaviruses; Dr. L. Banks (banks@icgeb.org)  
o     Yeast Molecular Genetics: Genome dynamics in yeast: DNA integration, aneuploidy and chromosomal translocation; Dr. C.V. Bruschi (bruschi@icgeb.org)



ICGEB Cape Town Component, South Africa

o     Cancer Genomics: Regulation of gene expression by transcription factors, role of receptor tyrosine kinases in cancer malignancies, aberrant gene expression in carcinogenesis, alterations in signal transduction pathways and gene translocations; Dr. L. Zerbini (luiz.zerbini@icgeb.org)   
o     Cancer Molecular and Cell Biology: Gene mutations and altered gene expression in cancer, detoxification gene polymorphisms in cancer predisposition, tumour cell invasion and metastasis, connective tissue-stromal cell-tumour interactions and tumour stem cells; Prof. M.I. Parker (Iqbal.Parker@icgeb.org)
o     Cellular Immunology: The role of antibody responses in protection against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and P. falciparum malaria; Dr. J. Dorfman (jeffrey.dorfman@icgeb.org)   
o     Cytokines and Disease: Immunological mechanisms of host protection in infectious and non-infectious diseases; Prof. F. Brombacher (frank.brombacher@icgeb.org )



ICGEB Monterotondo Outstation, Rome, Italy

·         Molecular Hematology: Lymphoid neoplasms; Signal transduction; B-cell receptor; Toll-like receptors; Targeted therapies; Dr. D. Efremov (efremov@icgeb.org)


For further details visit: http://www.icgeb.org/fellowships.html


For further information on this Programme contact:
ICGEB, Human Resources Unit, Padriciano 99, 34149 Trieste - Italy
Tel: +39-040-3757305, fax: +39-040-3757379, email: fellowships@icgeb.org

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