PhD Scholarship position in Data Processing and Analysis for Metabolomic Studies

The MiL@b (Metabolomics Interdisciplinary Laboratory) Research Group from the Rovira i Virgili University is seeking candidates to apply for a scholarship to obtain the PhD at our research facilities located in Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). MiL@b is a multidisciplinary research group formed by chemists, biochemists, computer and telecommunication engineers that has a very close relationship with the Metabolomics Platform.

Description of the research project:

Nowadays, technical advances have generated a large amount of measurement techniques that can be used to detect, identify and quantify molecules present mainly in biofluids or tissues of living entities like humans. One common characteristic of these systems is the wealth of raw data they generate for each measurement. Converting this raw data into useful information is key to find exciting new applications of these techniques towards the Personalized Medicine envisaged for the 21st century.

The goal of the project is to devise algorithms in the fields of biostatistics, digital signal processing, pattern recognition, multivariate analysis and neural networks to be able to process raw data coming from the measuring of biofluids such as serum, plasma or urine with different stablished techniques like NMR, Gas/liquid Chromatography-MS and MALDI-TOF to add relevant clinical information to the metabolomics field. The research group is in touch with many medical teams and has access to state-of-the-art instruments that provide the most advanced characteristics (sensitivity, selectivity, automation, data acquisition handling and storing raw data, etc.).

All these algorithms will be developed in open platforms such as R, the gold standard for statistical analysis in biosciences, and will be validated with real samples and real problems that have not been solved until now. We are involved with the Ciberdem institute that can provide all the samples and cases to study and the IISPV. Metabolomics and the techniques that provide the information needed have a bright future in medicine, since the information obtained can be used for early diagnosis through the discovery of robust and significant biomarkers or to assess the efficacy of new treatments. All this work could be included in a new profile of researchers commonly known as “data scientists”, which is today one of the most required positions in a big majority of the scientific fields.

Required profile: Candidates should have a background on computer science (very good programming skills), electronics, telecommunications or physics. Experience on statistics or multivariate analysis will also be appreciated.

Application: Candidates should apply to Martí-Franqués COFUND Fellowship Programme (position 2018MFP-COFUND-4). The application process is entirely electronic. Deadline for applying to MFP is May 20, 2018. We would be grateful if you also notify your application to Dr. Serena Pujol (serena.pujol@urv.cat), sending her by email your motivation letter and CV.

The MFP-COFUND Programme offers:

• 3-year working contract
• An intense multi-disciplinary and intersectoral training, the fruit of collaborations with over 30 partners that actively support this programme
• One of the best salaries at PhD level in Europe (2200 €/month gross salary)
• An international environment, supported by the adherence to the European Charter & Code
• Enrolment in excellent PhD programmes
• Opportunity to do research in a top 500 universities in the world (76 in THE Young universities ranking)
• Access to high-quality infrastructures for research & innovation

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: mfp.cofund@urv.cat CLOSED POSITION