IRB Barcelona is offering up to 8 PhD fellowships for young scientists from the national and international community who wish to undertake a doctoral degree in Biomedicine or Organic Chemistry. We encourage applications from highly motivated graduates with outstanding qualifications in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, physics, pharmacology, computational biology or related fields. Successful candidates will join research groups headed by top-level scientists and will carry out their research in cutting-edge fields of biomedicine in a stimulating environment.
The following will be offered in this call:
Up to 8 FPI positions associated with the “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2025” Call (funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI- MICINN).
Check out IRB Barcelona groups participating:
Dr. Angel R. Nebreda - Stress Signaling in Cancer
Dr. Marco Milán - Development and Growth Control Laboratory
Dr. Núria López-Bigas - Biomedical Genomics
Dr. Roger Gomis - Growth Control and Cancer Metastasis
Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah - Stem Cells and Cancer
Dr. Stefanie Wculek - Innate Immune Biology
Dr. Toni Gabaldón - Comparative Genomics
Dr. Xavier Salvatella - Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics
Start date of fellowships (depending on the official announcement by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI-MICINN): 1 January - 1 September 2027
APPLY HERE
Eligibility
The programme is aimed at students who have completed one of the following options between December 2026 and July 2027:
Studies that lead to an official Spanish (or from another country of the European Higher Education Area) university degree in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Medicine or related fields and that have 300 credits (ECTS), of which at least 60 must correspond to master level.
A degree in a non-Spanish university not adapted to the European Higher Education Area and that gives access to doctoral studies in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Physics, Medicine or related fields in Spain.
Candidates are selected exclusively on merit, on the basis of their curricula. The academic grades and curriculum vitae of each applicant are evaluated, as well as recommendation letters and a motivation letter. No selection criteria for positive or negative discrimination are applied.
How to apply
Applicants should apply through the LINK.
Applicants will be asked to send the following documents in English: *Please note that all the documents provided should be in PDF format.
Curriculum vitae specifying education and experience, including career breaks, and supported by pertinent documents.
A motivation letter (maximum 2 pages) highlighting your research experience and academic achievements and explaining why you are interested in IRB Barcelona and in a particular research group.
A scanned copy of the student’s certified Academic Record. These documents must show the grades. If the certified academic records are not in Spanish or English applicants should also attach a translation in one of the above mentioned languages.
Any additional files considered relevant to the application
Two recommendation letters from university lecturers or scientists with who the applicant has studied or worked. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that referees send these letters to academicoffice@irbbarcelona.org. Applications not supported by these letters will not be eligible. If the applicant has previously worked with a researcher at IRB Barcelona, any letter of reference from said person cannot be included as one of the two reference letters requested. However, it can be sent to provide additional support for the application.
Please indicate the Research Group to which you wish to apply. Details of the available research projects for the FPI fellowships are provided in Annex 1 of the (FPI-Project) associated with the “Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2025” Call (funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación AEI- MICINN).
More information on the research activities of each group can be found on the IRB Barcelona webpage.
For more information, please, contact academicoffice@irbbarcelona.org.
Selection procedure
Evaluation criteria:
Criteria 1. Academic and/or scientific-technical career path of the candidate (up to 50 points).
Sub-criteria
1. a) Scientific-technical contributions (up to 45 points). The academic record and other curricular merits of the candidate will be assessed, as well as their suitability for the tasks to be carried out based on training and professional experience.
1. b) Mobility and internationalisation (up to 5 points). Short stays in national and international institutions, universities, and industry will be assessed based on the prestige of the hosting entity and the activities conducted during the stay. Additionally, the impact of the research stays on the candidate’s career will also be considered.
Criteria 2. Adequacy of the candidate to the research activities to be carried out (up to 50 points).
The adequacy of the candidates for the program, project or research activities to be carried out will be assessed based on their previous training and experience. For that purpose, consideration shall be given to the added value that carrying out the project will represent for their research career, as well as the value contributed to the institution and the host research group.
Evaluation and Selection Process
The evaluation and selection of the candidates will be performed by the project supervisor, supported by the IRB Academic Office, and following the procedure below:
1. Submitted applications will be checked for eligibility by the Academic Office, and those not fulfilling all the criteria will be rejected. It will not be possible to modify the application or to add missing documentation after the call deadline.
2. The selection will be based on the evaluation criteria described in Section "Eligibility".
3. At the late stages of the selection process, short-listed candidates will be contacted for a personal interview.
4. All applicants will be notified of the final selection decision when the selection process has been completed and the candidate has been selected and accepted. Candidates may submit allegations they deem to be appropriate, within 10 days of the date of the publication.
Successful candidates will be requested to inform IRB Academic Office (academicoffice@irbbarcelona.org) whether they accept or decline the offer within five business days of being notified. If the applicant does not respond during this time, the offer will be considered declined.
Calendar
Tentative Agenda:
Call opening: 15 September 2026
Deadline for candidacies: 28 October 2026, 15:00 CET
Deadline for referees: 30 October 2026, 15:00 CET
Online Interviews: TBD November 2026
Notification to candidates: 4 December 2026 (TBC)
Start date of fellowships (depending on the official announcement by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI-MICINN): 1 January - 1 September 2027
