PhD Scholarships, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Spain

PhD Scholarships, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), Spain -During 2012, the Fundación "la Caixa" will provide support for ten graduate students who qualified to carry out their experimental work towards obtaining a PhD at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO; Spanish National Cancer Research Center) in an International PhD Program.

In this context "la Caixa" / CNIO International PhD Programme, we are seeking an exceptional and highly motivated PhD student interested enough to receive cross-disciplinary training in state-of-the-art basic and applied cancer research.

WHO CAN APPLY?

This call is open to applicants of all nationalities.
Students holding a bachelor's degree (BSc, MSc, Diploma, DEA, Licenciatura, Laurea or equivalent) in biomedical sciences, or who expect to be awarded with such qualification during the first half of 2012, are eligible to apply to the Program. This university degree should qualify for starting a PhD thesis in the student's home country. Non-European university degrees should be equivalent to a diploma or degree Europe.
The study should have been completed no more than two years ago.
Applicants must have an academic record and previous research experience during their undergraduate period.
Candidates must have a solid working knowledge of English.
Co-authorship of publications in MEDLINE listed journals will be considered positively.
Participation in the CNIO Summer training program will be evaluated positively.
Individuals may not have worked at the CNIO, at any time, for more than three months before it was employed as part of "la Caixa" / CNIO International PhD Programme. Date of initial incorporation into this program is 1 September each year.
Upper age limit for eligibility is 30 years old.
Applicants having doubts about their eligibility should contact the Office of Training (phd@cnio.es) prior to submitting their application.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Students who gain a place in our PhD program will receive full financial support, including tuition fees, regardless of nationality. During the first two years, students will receive an annual gross salary of 17,165 Euros 1500 Euros plus an annual allowance to cover other costs, such as university fees, the cost comes from the presence of international congresses and / or remain in the international research centers. During the third and fourth years, graduate students will receive a contract of employment with an annual gross salary of 25,430 Euros (depending on marital status, children, etc., salaries are consistent with net income of about 1615 Euro / month) plus an annual allowance of former Euro 1700. This contract will be prepared in accordance with Spanish laws and regulations, and employees will be included in the general Spanish Social Security System.
Fellowship will be paid monthly rates at the end of each month via bank transfer to Spanish bank account.
This scholarship will be awarded on a competitive basis and will be updated every year to four years, depending on a positive evaluation by the supervisor.
All students will receive full health insurance and employment.
Graduate students will also be entitled to social benefits such as vacation, food subsidies and assistance to learn Spanish or English.
Doctoral student at the CNIO usually have their doctorates awarded by a university in Madrid. However, international PhD students can also choose to have their doctoral degree awarded by a university in their home countries.
During the duration of the fellowship students must devote themselves entirely to research at CNIO and may not be the beneficiary of any other fellowship, grant, salary or regular income.
The fellowship does not mean any obligation of CNIO regarding further incorporation of the employee.
Costs associated with interviews: applicants are invited to Madrid for an interview will be provided with a return airline ticket and overnight accommodation. All bookings will be directly handled by the CNIO.
This program will fund only one PhD student per group per year.
TIME LIMITS
The deadline for receipt of complete applications (including letters of reference) will be March 15, 2012.
All candidates should be selected in late July 2012.
Scholarship should begin in September-October 2012. PhD thesis must be completed within four years, without exception.

HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted exclusively through the website. A link to the online application form can be found at http://www.cnio.es/PhD. The application form must be completed in English.

In the online application process you will be prompted to enter your personal data, information about your education, your scientific interests and names / contact details of two referees. In addition, you will be asked to upload all necessary documents, including CV and academic certificates. We advise you to prepare all the text (motivation letter, list of publications, etc.) in a text processor and paste it into the application form.

In the application form we will advise you to choose, in order of preference, a maximum of three research groups from the list of CNIO groups that received the application in the call. These groups included six of the Research Program at CNIO: Molecular Oncology, Structural Biology and Biocomputing, BBVA Foundation - CNIO Cancer Cell Biology, Molecular Pathology, Human Cancer Genetics and Clinical Research. Summary of research interests and list of publications can be found in 2010 CNIO's Scientific Report. Selection Committee will assign students succeed for different research groups at the end of the interview process.
Use the "publication" text box to enter all your publications (if any). The publication must include the full title and author list (as published) in the format of PubMed.
Use the "motivation letter" text box to elaborate on the research interests and skills and knowledge. Also stated the reasons why you want to do a PhD at CNIO.
Use the "additional information and comments" text box to enter additional information you deem relevant and you have not provided elsewhere. Also, use this space to make any comments you may have.
In the application form you must provide your name and email address of two scientists who will write letters of reference on your behalf. You must download the "letter of reference" form from the website and send it to two people who have agreed to act as referees on your behalf. You must submit a letter of two referees to sign their scans directly to phd@cnio.es recommendations. Alternatively, letters may also be faxed to +34-912246980, to the Office of Training. It is your responsibility to ensure that all letters of reference sent to CNIO before the deadline (15 March 2012).
Once you have filled out all required fields on the application form online you will be prompted to upload a file containing your CV. You will also be asked to upload the official transcript of records, ie your academic certificates.
All files are preferred in pdf format, pdf and rtf formats are also accepted (size below 1MB).
After entering all the required information you can submit your application by pressing the "Submit". After submission you will receive e-mail receipt confirmation automatically admitted. However, remember that your application will not be considered complete and will not be reviewed until all reference letters have been received.

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only one application per candidate will be accepted. If more than one application is received from the same candidate, only the latter will be considered as valid.

For more information, or if you have any questions regarding this application, please e-mail phd@cnio.es

APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION
Log into the program on a competitive basis. All applications are evaluated solely on the basis of academic qualifications and scientific potential.

Applications will be reviewed initially by the Office of Training CNIO to ensure that they are complete and eligible. All eligible applications will be reviewed by the ad hoc Selection Committee, formed by CNIO faculty members, who will evaluate candidates based on the following criteria:

Academic achievement and potential candidates for successful research while at the CNIO, as evidenced by their qualifications and grades, and previous research experience.
The information provided by the candidate on the application form, and in particular the letter of motivation.
Recommendation letter.
Selection Committee will consider all applications and select the number of candidates to visit the CNIO in Madrid where they will be interviewed by potential supervisors and discuss their research interests. Interviews are scheduled to take place on May 21 to 23, 2012. Applicants must be prepared to travel to Spain at that time. Failure to participate in the interview process will disqualify the applicant is being considered for the position. Original documents, such as the original academic certificates and diplomas, or certified translation, must be presented at this time.

Candidates selected will be chosen by the Selection Committee based on personal interviews. Candidates can be allocated to different research groups of the selected by the applicant at the discretion of the Selection Committee. Final selection of candidates require approval by the Direction CNIO.

Applicants will be notified of the final decision of the Selection Committee by e-mail and a list of successful candidates will be published at the CNIO's web site.

Successful candidates are required to inform CNIO whether they accept or reject the offer within 2 weeks after notification. The offer is deemed rejected if the applicant does not respond during this time.

RESIDENCE PERMIT / STUDENT VISA
To stay in Spain, foreign students from countries non-EU require a residence permit or student visa. Training Office will provide administrative support in visa formalities for these students.

For more information, please visit the official site: www.cnio.es