INESC COIMBRA - INSTITUTO DE ENGENHARIA DE SISTEMAS E COMPUTADORES DE COIMBRA
Organisation/Company INESC COIMBRA - INSTITUTO DE ENGENHARIA DE SISTEMAS E COMPUTADORES DE COIMBRA Research Field Engineering » Biomedical engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Bachelor Positions Country Portugal Application Deadline 15 Jul 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Type of Contract Not Applicable Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Sep 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? Yes
Offer Description
NOTICE
ANNOUNCEMENT CALL FOR THE AWARD OF A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (BI)
A call is now open for the award of 1 (one) scientific research fellowship (BI) for graduated students, under operation no. 16573, operation code at the COMPETE2030-FEDER 00774800 Funds Desk, of the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering of Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), BI Ref. UI0308/RADICAL.1/2025, with financial support from FEDER, under the following conditions:
Scientific Area:Medical Physics
Admission requirements:Holders of a Bachelor's degree and enrolled in a non-degree awarding study programme or a Master's programme in Medical Physics, Physics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field. Additional requirements and skills: knowledge of radiotherapy treatment planning, programming in Matlab, and understanding of optimisation. Candidates with knowledge in image analysis and processing, radiobiology, medical imaging, statistical methods and simulation, and radiological physics will be given preference.
Work plan and objectives to be achieved: This project aims to develop new optimisation strategies for proton radiotherapy, focusing on minimising the adverse effects of radiation on the immune system, particularly the prevention of lymphopenia — a condition resulting from the destruction of lymphocytes, which is strongly associated with poorer prognoses in cancer patients. While radiotherapy is a key tool in cancer treatment, its application can significantly compromise the patient's immune function. This work seeks to develop innovative methods to optimise intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans, with particular attention to protecting lymphocyte-rich regions and strategically selecting the beam incidence angles. The work plan begins with an in-depth review of the state of the art regarding lymphopenia in radiotherapy, the treatment planning workflow, the various treatment modalities, and the specific characteristics of proton therapy. This will be followed by the development or adaptation of models and optimisation algorithms suited to the problem at hand. These will then be applied to real clinical cases. Finally, a critical analysis of the results will be conducted, and the final report will be written.
Applicable legislation and regulations: Research Grant Holder Statute, approved by Law No. 40/2004 of August 18, amended and republished by Decree-Law No. 202/2012 of August 27, by Decree-Law No. 89/2013 of July 9, by Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of October 29, and by Law No. 12/2013 of January 29, and amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of August 28, in the current formulation; Regulation of Studentships of Research of FCT, I. P., in the current formulation. More information is available at: https://www.fct.pt/financiamento/programas-de-financiamento/bolsas/
Regime:The granting of the studentship does not create or entitle a relationship of a legal-labor nature, it is carried out on an exclusive dedication basis and is attributed to the Grant Holder, according to the Studentship Regulation of INESC Coimbra, as provided for in theResearch Grant Holder Statute and in theRegulation of Studentships of Research of the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., both in their currentformulation.
Workplace:The work will be developed within the activities of the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering of Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), under the scientific guidance of Professor Joana Maria Pina Cabral Matos Dias and Professor Humberto José da Silva Pereira Rocha. The workplace is in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra.
Duration of thestudentships:Thestudentship will last for 12 months, renewable for the same period, on an exclusive basis, in accordance with FCT’s advanced human resources training regulation and theStudentship Regulation of INESC Coimbra, and is scheduled to start in September 2025.
Monthly maintenance allowance amount:Theamount of thestudentship is in accordance with the table of values of thestudentships awarded directly by FCT, I.P. in the country ( https://www.fct.pt/fct-atualizou-o-valor-das-bolsas-para-2025/ ) and corresponds to 1040,98€ The form of payment will be by bank transfer, for the account to be designated by the grantee. The voluntary social insurance, corresponding to the first level, is added to this amount if the grantee chooses to subscribe to it, as well as personal accident insurance. The value of thestudentship will not increase over the entire period of its duration.
Selection methods:The selection methods to be used will be as follows: curricular evaluation, with a valuation of 50% for academic qualifications and 50% for the degree of satisfaction of the admission requirements. If the Jury deems necessary, an interview may be conducted with candidates placed in the top four positions according to the order resulting from the previous criteria. In this case, the final score will include the curricular evaluation (as described above), with a valuation of 75%, and the interview, with a valuation of 25%.
Composition of the Selection Jury:
Candidates’ eligibility: Without prejudice to the applicable rules for each fellowship type, the following are eligible forstudentship:
* National citizens or citizens of other Member States of the European Union;
* Third-party state citizens;
* Stateless persons;
* Beneficiaries of political refugee status.
Required documents and application formalization:The application must beformalized by sending, by e-mail, the following documents:
* Letter of motivation, where the applicant must mention whether he(she) is available to start thestudentship on the scheduled date;
* Document(s) with proof of the ownership of the academic degree and/or diploma(s) required in the call, preferably with indication of the final average and the classifications obtained per curricular unit. Applicants with foreign qualifications must prove their academic degree and foreign diploma under Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16. These documents may be exempted, during the application stage, by the declaration of honor contained in the application form, which can only attest to facts that occurred on a date prior to the application, with this condition being only verified in the contractualization phase of thestudentship;
* (Optional in the application phase) Document proving the enrollment and registration in the study cycle or non-awarding degree course, as stated in the application notice. This registration may be made at a time after the application, provided that it is complete until the contractualization of thestudentship;
* Updated curriculum vitae of the candidate, with the description of qualifications;
* Proof(s) of another evaluation parameter(s) indicated in the application notice;
* Other certifications and/or other documents considered relevant by the applicant.
Applicants with academic degrees obtained abroad will be required to present a Certificate of Recognition in accordance with applicable law. This document is mandatory only in the contractualization phase.
Form of publicization / notification of results:The final evaluation results will be published, through a list ordered by the obtained final grade, published in a visible and publicplace of the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering of Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), and the approved candidates will be notified by email.
After the announcement of the results, candidates are considered automatically notified to, if they wish to do so, comment on the results on a preliminary hearing period within 10 days after that date.
Application deadline: The call isopen from 1st to 15th July, 2025.
Submission of applications: Applications must be sent by e-mail toicolaco@inescc.pt ( BI Refª.UI0308/RADICAL.1/2025 )
Additional information:In the absence of Applicants complying with the admission requirements (valuation of less than 50%) thestudentship will not be granted.
In case of resignation or withdrawal of the selected candidate, the next candidate with the highest evaluation score will be notified immediately.Once the selection process is completed, thestudentship contract will be drawn up in accordance with the draft contract provided by the FCT.After the contracted period, the grant holder and supervisor(s) must prepare the final report in accordance with the respective assessment criteria that were established.
Publication link Notice in PT and EN, on the INESC Coimbra website:
Holders of a Bachelor's degree and enrolled in a non-degree awarding study programme or a Master's programme in Medical Physics, Physics Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field. Additional requirements and skills
Specific Requirements
knowledge of radiotherapy treatment planning, programming in Matlab, and understanding of optimisation. Candidates with knowledge in image analysis and processing, radiobiology, medical imaging, statistical methods and simulation, and radiological physics will be given preference.
#J-18808-Ljbffr