A Research Fellowship (BI) (Reference REQUIMTE 2026-57) at Laboratório Associado para a Química Verde - Tecnologias e Processos Limpos - UIDB/50006/2020, with the financial support of the FCT/ MECI through national funds, is available at REQUIMTE.

Main research field: Chemistry / Health Sciences

Admission requirements: 

-Master's degree in Bioengineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences or similar;

-Enrollment in a Doctoral Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences or Biotechnology areas or enrollment/attendance of a non-degree course taught by a higher education institution in conjunction with an R&D unit;

-Proven competences in the handling and culture of human hair follicles, with expertise in the following techniques and assays: hair follicle elongation and metabolic assays, cryostat sectioning, immunofluorescence, fluorescence/confocal microscopy and digital bioimage analysis.

-Training in the development and physicochemical characterization of biomimetic nanoparticle-based formulations;

-Proved knowledge in the required fields.

In case the Master degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018 of 16th August, and all formalities established therein must be complied with at the signature of Fellowship contract.

Workplan:

a. Experimental design, development, characterization and evaluation of biomimetic nanoformulations loaded with bioactive compounds for hair follicle applications.

b. Application of ex vivo human hair follicle and in vitro dermal papilla cell models.

c. Evaluation of the effectiveness of nanoformulations using ex vivo hair follicle elongation assays, biochemical assays, immunofluorescence and microscopy-based approaches.

d. Processing and analysis of experimental data, including quantitative digital bioimage analysis and statistical treatment.

e. Participation in the preparation of scientific articles, posters and presentations.

f. Other activities related to project development.

Applicable Legislation: 

Law nº.40/2004, 18th August (Research Fellow Statute) amended and republished by Decreto-Lei n.º 123/2019, 28th August; FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships 

(https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/RBi_Republicado_2025.pdf).

Workplace: 

The work will be developed in Faculty of Pharmacy/ Applied Chemistry Laboratory, under the scientific supervision of Salette Reis, Full Professor.

Duration of the fellowship: 

The fellowship will have duration of 6 months, will be potentially renewable for equal additional periods, expected to start on November 2026. 

Monthly stipend: 

Monthly stipend is €1.359,64 according to the stipends established by FCT, I.P. in Portugal (https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM-202…). Payment will be made by bank transfer on a monthly basis. The successful candidate will also be entitled to the reimbursement of Social Security payments (Seguro Social Voluntário) and work insurance.

Selection criteria: 

Curricular evaluation:

The selection shall focus on the following preference criteria: 

1. Academic and scientific curriculum:

1. Consistency and quality of CV - 20%;
2. Communications at scientific conferences - 15%;
3. Scientific writing - 10%. 

2. Relevant experience, proven in the CV, in:

a. Experience in the handling, and culture of human hair follicles – 20%;

b. Experience in the development and characterization of biomimetic nanoformulations – 10%;

d. Experience in cryostat sectioning, immunofluorescence, confocal microscopy and digital bioimage analysis – 5%;

e. Experience in metabolic and other biological assays for the evaluation of hair follicle responses – 5%.

c. Experience in dermal papilla cell in vitro models – 5%;

3. Letter of motivation - 10%.

Interview:

In the case of admitted candidates whose evaluation does not differ more than 10% from that obtained by the best positioned candidate, the jury will interview these candidates. 

The interviews will be intended to obtain clarification and explanations of the curricular elements presented and additional information, as well as to evaluate the attitude and motivation of the candidates.

The evaluation factors of the selection interview will be (scale from 0 to 20 points): 

1. Specific knowledge for the implementation of the work plan (0 to 10 points);
2. Attitude and availability (0 to 4 points);
3. Communication skills (0 to 3 points);
4. Motivation for the planned activities (0 to 3 points).

In this situation, the final classification will be obtained by the following formula: 0.7 x Curricular Evaluation + 0.3 x Interview, on a scale from 0 to 100 points. 

The jury will not award the current scholarship to candidates with a final classification lower than 50%.

Jury composition: 

Maria de La Salette de Freitas Fernandes Hipólito Reis (Full Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of do Porto; President), 

Cláudia Daniela Oliveira de Lacerda Nunes Pinho (Researcher,  Faculty of Pharmacy, University of do Porto; vowel),

João Luís Machado dos Santos (Assistant Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of do Porto; vowel). 

António José Mira da Fonseca (Full Professor, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto; substitute vowel),

Publicity and communication of results: The ranking of applications will be published at a visible and public area of REQUIMTE facilities, and all candidates will be informed by email about the result of their application.

Application: 

The call for applications is open between 07/10/2026 and 20/10/2026.

The applications are formalized at the electronic address bolsas@iceta.up.pt, containing in the subject the reference to which the candidate is applying (Reference REQUIMTE 2026-57) with following documents in a digital form, in PDF format and will include Curriculum vitae, Motivation letter, Qualifications Certificate, and other documents deemed relevant.