CALL FOR ONE RESEARCH GRANTS UNDER THE PROJECT CI-IPOP 54-2023 “ISCCP Incidence and survival for childhood cancer in Portugal from 2010-2020: a nationwide population-based study” at CI-IPOP

Scientific Area 

Health Sciences  

The Research Center of the Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (CI-IPOP) hosted at Instituto Português de Oncologia do Porto Francisco Gentil, EPE, invites applications for 1 research fellowship position for a MSc to work in the project ISCCP - Incidence and survival for childhood cancer in Portugal from 2010-2020: a nationwide population-based studyin Epidemiology, Results, Economy and Management in Oncology Group (Grupo de Epidemiologia, Resultados, Economia e Gestão em Oncologia - GEREGO).

Application period: from 23/04/2024 until 08/05/2024.

Admission requirements

We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic candidate of legal age who hold the following requirements, supported by documentation:

Obligatory 

• Master’s degree in the field of Health, Biomedical, Life Sciences or equivalent
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Portuguese
• Be enrolled in a PhD course (a requirement to be proven at the time of hiring)

or

Be enrolled in a course (specialization course, practical course, or continuing education course) that does not lead to an academic degree but that is integrated into the educational project of a higher education institution, developed in association or cooperation with one or more R&D units. It is possible to present a declaration of honor at the application stage, and the proof of registration must be presented at the time of hiring.

If the qualification has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of article 25 of Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th, and any formalities established therein must be fulfilled by the date of the hiring act. 

Preferencial

The following elements will be highly valued:

• Final master’s degree classification
• Knowledge in medical, anatomy and physiology terminology
• Proficiency in clinical-pathological data collection from clinical charts
• Experience in epidemiological research
• User perspective computers skills of Word, Excel, PowerPoint or equivalents, Internet, and Email
• Formal training in statistical analysis
• Presentations in scientific meetings
• Publication of articles in peer reviewed journals
• Experience in oncology (research and/or medical education)

Applicable legislation and regulations 

Research Fellowship Holder Statue enacted by Law no. 40/2004 of August 18^th, as amended; FCT Research Grants Regulation, approved by way of Regulation nr. 950/2019, published in the II Series of DR of December 16^th, 2019; Research Center IPO Porto Research Grants Regulation.  

Work plan

The research fellow will take part of the research team in a study that aims to analyze childhood cancer incidence and survival rates and trends for the period 2010-2020, in Portugal. With the support of the research team, the fellow will be responsible for:

1. Preparation for data collection and procedure’s manual
2. Cancer registry data extraction and curation
3. Development and conduction of the statistical analysis
4. Preparation of reports, communications, and manuscripts
5. Public presentation of the results

The assigned tasks require maturity, responsibility, capacity, and technical rigor.

Workplace and scientific orientation

The work will be carried out at Epidemiology, Results, Economy and Management in Oncology Group (GEREGO) from CI-IPOP hosted at IPO Porto Epidemiology Department, Rua Dr António Bernardino de Almeida, 4200-072 Porto, under the scientific supervision of Professor Maria José Bento and Doctor Teresa Monjardino.

Duration of the scholarship

The studentship will last seven (7) months or until the end of the project, starting as soon as possible, on an exclusive basis, cannot be awarded for periods shorter than three consecutive months according to FCT's regulation of advanced training of human resources. 

Monthly value of the grant

The monthly maintenance allowance is 1259.64€, according to the table of stipends values awarded by the FCT, I.P, which can be consulted at: https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Tabela-de-Valores-SMM_atualizacao-2024.pdf. The IPO Porto will pay the monthly maintenance allowance amount by bank transfer. In addition, the grantee will be covered by a personal accident insurance (PAI). 

Funding of the grant

Medical Research Grant in Childhood Cancer from Liga Portuguesa contra o Cancro (LPCC) / LIONS Club Portugal.

Selection methods

The admitted applications will be evaluated considering the candidates' academic or professional qualifications, professional career, relevance of the experience and training and the type of duties carried out in accordance with the profile described above.

The jury will analyze the application documents according to following criteria:

Criterion A - Curriculum evaluation (CE), with a weight of 40%:

Sub-criterion A.I - Final master’s degree classification (4%).

Sub-criterion A.II – PhD in Health, Biomedicine, Life Sciences or equivalent (2%).

Sub-criterion A.III - Knowledge in medical, anatomy and physiology terminology (4%).

Sub-criterion A.IV - Proficiency in clinical-pathological data collection from clinical charts (4%).

Sub-criterion A.V - Experience in epidemiological research (4%).

Sub-criterion A.VI - User perspective computers skills of Word, Excel, PowerPoint or equivalents, Internet, and Email (4%).

Sub-criterion A.VII - Formal training in statistical analysis (4%).

Sub-criterion A.VIII - Presentations in scientific meetings (4%).

Sub-criterion A.IX - Publication of articles in peer reviewed journals (4%).

Sub-criterion A.X - Experience in oncology (research and/or medical education) (4%).

Sub-criterion A.XI - Recent recommendation letter (less than 3 years) (2%).

Criterion B – Professional interview (PI), with a weight of 60%. Interviews will be carried out to the candidates with the best curricular evaluations to a maximum of 10 candidates. A minimum of 30% (in 60%) in the interview is needed for a candidate to be considered eligible for the position.

Sub-criterion B.I - Ability to express and verbal fluency. Self-confidence and participation in the discussion of issues with a critical and analytical sense (15%).

Sub-criterion B.II - Demonstrated professional attitude – propensity for the role and attitude towards learning (15%).

Sub-criterion B.III - Profile for the role – autonomy in carrying out work, interpersonal relationships and sense of responsibility. Ability to team work (15%).

Sub-criterion B.IV - Evidenced emotional attitude to work under pressure and meet deadlines and objectives (15%).

Candidates will be ranked according to the weighted average of the classification obtained in each criterion according to the following formula:

(CEx40%) + (PIx60%)

After evaluation of all admitted applications, the jury will write a meeting minute with all process of recruitment, evaluation, and selection, including an ordered list of approved candidates and the final decision of the jury. The final decision of the jury shall be validated by the Head of the Institution, who is also in charge of deciding about the hiring.

Jury elements

Chairman: Maria José Bento, MD, PhD

1^st effective member: Teresa Monjardino, PhD

2^nd effective member: Teresa Garcia, MSc

1^st supplementary member: Luisa Lopes-Conceição, PhD

2^nd supplementary member:  Pedro Leite-Silva, MSc.

Form of advertising/notification of results

The results of the evaluation will be announced via the email indicated by the candidates in their Curriculum Vitae/Letter of Motivation.

Candidates have a period of 10 working days, counting from the day immediately following the notification, to express their opinion, if desired, in a prior hearing with interested parties, under the terms of article 121 et seq. of the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA).

Form of submission of applications and application deadline

The call is open from the 23^rd of April to the 8^th of May of 2024 (until 23:59, local time). Applications must be formalized, obligatorily, by email send to teresa.monjardino@ipoporto.min-saude.pt and candidaturas.ci-ipop@ipoporto.min-saude.pt and the email subject must be “Application for a research ISCCP fellowship (CI-IPOP)", accompanied by the following documents:

• Summarized Curriculum Vitae
• Motivation letter
• Copy of the diploma or document issued of all higher education degrees obtained by candidates with information about the classification (in degrees for which the assessment is quantitative). If the higher education degree was obtained in a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution (in accordance with the Decree-Law no. 66/2018) and any formalities established there must be met at the application deadline

Proofs must be attached directly to the application, without the use of links to external platforms/drives. To guarantee the reading of all documents, the preferred recording format is the Portable Document Format (.pdf). Files must be named with the candidate's first and last name and must not exceed, as a whole, 5 MB. These can be compressed in .zip format.

For further information about the project and the work to be developed, contact Dr. Teresa Monjardino (teresa.monjardino@ipoporto.min-saude.pt)

Declaration on honor

I, (identification of the candidate), bearer of the Citizen's Card / Visa / Residence Card no. ____, valid until ____, declare under honor commitment to meet the conditions set forth in the n.ºs 4 and 5 of article 6.º from the Regulation of Research Grants from FCT,IP (Regulation No. 950 / 2019 of 16 December).

Porto, ___/___/_____

__________________________________

(Candidate holder's signature)