[Community] Fwd: [Sci-GaIA.Consortium] URGENT - Call for a PhD position in the context of an International Training Network

[Omo Oaiya]

FYI  ..... please share in your networks for those who may be interested

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Roberto Barbera" <roberto.barbera at ct.infn.it>
Date: 12 Apr 2017 4:36 pm
Subject: [Sci-GaIA.Consortium] URGENT - Call for a PhD position in the
context of an International Training Network
To: <consortium at sci-gaia.eu>
Cc:

Dear All,
>
>
>
> Please find below an interesting call for a PhD position in Italy. The
> deadline to apply is the *19th of April*.
>
>
>
> Ciao
>
>
>
> Roberto
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------
>
>
>
> Dear distinguished Colleagues,
>
>
>
> I apologize for a possible cross-posting of this message.
>
>
>
> I am looking for bright young graduated from university with the
> requisites to apply for a position of *early stage researcher (ERS) *within
> an Italian doctorate (namely the Doctorate School of Clinical and
> Experimental Neurosciences and Psychiatry at the Sapienza University of
> Rome, Italy). This *early stage researcher* may be an extraordinary
> opportunity for our scientific cooperation in the field of innovative
> information and communication technology (ICT) applied to the analysis and
> visualization of biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). He or she is
> expected to work for an expansion of the services (e.g. data upload,
> management, processing, and integration, etc.) of the ICT platform of
> Italian GARR, namely the DECIDE platform originally developed in the
> framework of the FP7 ICT Infrastructure “DECIDE”
>
> https://www.eu-decide.eu <https://www.eu-decide.eu/?jjj=1490809431516>.
>
>
>
> The application of the *early stage researcher *should be sent by 19th of
> April 2017 (h 12.00 noon, CET) following the instructions reported at
> http://dff.uniroma1.it/it/node/6092
>
> The interview is planned for 15th of May 2017 (via skype).
>
> The result of the evaluation process will be communicated on 19th of May
> 2017.
>
> The position will be available immediately with expected start date on 1st
> of June 2017. It will last 36 months with guaranteed funding from
>
>
>
> *Horizon 2020, Call:* H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie
> Innovative Training Networks)
>
> *Type of action:* MSCA-ITN-ETN (European Training Networks) Project
> number: 721281
>
> *Project title:* Blood Biomarker-based Diagnostic Tools for Early-stage
> Alzheimer’s Disease
>
> *Project acronym:* BBDiag
>
> *Duration of the project:* 48 months (start date of 1st of January 2017)
>
> http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/205430_en.html
>
>
>
> The *early stage researcher *will have to spend *24 months* based at the
> Department of Physiology and Pharmacology “Erspamer”, Sapienza University
> of Rome (Italy), and Consortium GARR of Rome. Furthermore, he or she will
> have to spend 12 months in top academic and industrial Partners of the
> BBDiag Consortium.
>
>
>
> Specifically, the candidate winning the public competition in the object
> (local Academic Committee) will be involved in the activities for reaching
> the following BBDiag project objectives:
>
>
>
> 1) To develop plug-in interfaces in the DECIDE platform to store and
> retrieve data coming from devices settled during the BBDiag project for
> subject’s telemonitoring from the resident home (e.g. graphene PoC tools
> and ELISA barcoding arrays & telomere sensors);
>
>
>
> 2) To expand the DECIDE big data techniques and algorithms to manage,
> process, and integrate information collected from the mentioned BBDiag
> devices and those matured in previous trials (e.g. electroencephalographic
> biomarkers of AD, cognitive-motor performances, and lifestyle indexes).
>
>
>
> The general aim of the *early stage researcher*’s activities is to
> explore and develop innovative ICT-based services for the prevention, early
> diagnosis, and telemonitoring of pathological aging with a focus on AD. In
> the DECIDE platform, the Sapienza University Unit will collect big amount
> of heterogeneous data in AD and Parkinson’s disease (PD) such as
> traditional numeric markers from neuroimaging and electroencephalographic
> data, files of measures made of analytical parameters (traditional discrete
> data), graphic objects, images, questionnaires, cognitive-motor
> performances, lifestyle indexes, etc. In this context, the *early stage
> researcher* will receive an initial interdisciplinary training on the
> DECIDE platform and medical devices integrated in ICT healthcare platforms.
> Afterward, he/she will be involved in the development of the new DECIDE
> plug-in interfaces and data analysis algorithms.
>
>
>
> Skills/Qualifications of extreme interest:
>
> previous experience with the ICT-based services;
>
> interest in the research on the biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease
>
> .
>
> As important pre-requisites,
>
>
>
> - The candidate will have to have resided for 24 months outside from
> Italy in the last 36 months before the 6th of March 2017.
>
> - He/she should be not enrolled in a PhD course;
>
> - He/she should have obtained the Master of Science no more than 4 years
> before the 6th of March 2017.
>
>
>
> Please pass this onto anyone who may be interested & qualified.  The
> position description is pasted below in more details.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
>
> Fulvio Galeazzi, Ph.D.
>
> Consortium GARR
>
> Via dei Tizii, 6, 00185, Rome, Italy
>
> http://www.garr.it
>
> Phone/Fax: 0039 0649622542/2044
>
> Email: fulvio.galeazzi at garr.it
>
>
>
> And
>
>
>
> Claudio Babiloni, Ph.D.
>
> Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer"
>
> University of Rome "La Sapienza" (UNROMA1)
>
> P.le A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
>
> Phone/Fax: 0039 0649910989/0917
>
> Skype: claudio.babiloni
>
> Email: claudio.babiloni at uniroma1.it
>
>
>
>
>
> *Descriptors of the BBDiag project: *Diagnostic and implantable devices,
> environmental monitoring; Neurological disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's
> disease); Sensor networks, embedded systems, hardware platform; Scientific
> computing and data processing; Public economics.
>
>
>
> *Keywords:* Diagnostics of early-stage Alzheimer's disease, blood AD
> biomarkers, biosensors, electronics, preclinical, validation, clinical,
> trials, machine learning, business.
>
>
>
> *Abstract of the BBDiag project:*
>
> Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects more than 7 million people in Europe, and
> this figure is expected to double every 20 years. Despite intensive
> efforts, no disease-modifying treatments or preventive strategies are
> available. The lack of specific, sensitive and minimally invasive
> diagnostics to identify people with early-stage AD to be included in
> clinical drug intervention trials is among the main reasons for many
> notable trial failures. The main challenges in developing the required
> diagnostics are the identification of AD biomarkers and development of
> their detection techniques. The complex and interdisciplinary nature of the
> research underlines the need for innovative training of a new generation of
> researchers in the field. BBDiag responds to such a need and establishes a
> much-needed ETN for blood-based early-AD diagnostics to address these
> challenges. It brings together leading academic and industrial experts from
> five major consortia in Europe and uses their synergies to build a triple-i
> research & training platform with the required multidisciplinary expertise
> and cutting-edge technologies. BBDiag Fellows will be trained under the
> Vitae Researcher Development Framework innovatively combined with the
> BBDiag platform for gaining interdisciplinary scientific and transferable
> skills as well as personal quality, creative thinking, and business
> mindset. The ETN has a highly innovative research programme for the
> discovery of AD biomarkers, development of novel biosensing techniques and
> point of care tools, and for technological exploitation of the diagnostics.
> These advances will strongly support improved care provision and
> development of disease-modifying treatments and preventive strategies for
> AD patients. More importantly, BBDiag will deliver its first generation of
> 13 highly-skilled, creative and entrepreneurial Fellows, setting them on a
> path to successful careers in academia or industry to ensure that the
> medical and societal challenges imposed by AD are met.
>
>
>
> *More details on the BBDiag project:*
>
> The identification of early stages of AD (prodromal and mild dementia),
> before the onset of massive, irreversible neuronal loss and cognitive
> decline, is a key requirement for the development of disease-modifying
> treatments and preventive strategies. Established techniques based on
> cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein biomarkers and neuroimaging (MRI, PET)
> can provide a diagnosis of AD at clinically manifest stages and support the
> diagnostics of early-stage AD. In both cases, the large-scale use of CSF
> and imaging markers is limited by quite invasive protocols and the need for
> high-cost instruments. Highly sensitive blood biomarkers can be useful as
> entry diagnostic tests, or gate-keeping screens, to identify patients with
> early-stage AD for more invasive and expensive biomarker testing using
> imaging or CSF. If further refined, blood-based biomarkers with sufficient
> sensitivity and specificity could even become diagnostic markers to replace
> more expensive CSF sampling or imaging, and add accuracy in identifying
> comorbidities. Recent advances in the discovery of blood-based biomarkers
> for early pathological changes of AD2, and in developing nanomaterial-based
> highly sensitive biosensors have shown the potential to develop blood
> biomarker-based diagnostic tools for early-stage AD with the desirable
> features of minimally invasive, highly sensitive and inexpensive. However,
> to turn these promising developments into a clinically applicable
> diagnostic tool requires further joint interdisciplinary research efforts
> involving a large number of disciplines including neurobiology, disease
> pathogenesis, biology, high-level computation and data mining,
> biotechnology, electronics, materials, physics, nano-biosensing,
> preclinical and clinical testing and evaluation, and business and
> entrepreneurship. The complex and interdisciplinary nature of the research
> underlines the need for innovative training of a new generation of
> highly-skilled, creative, entrepreneurial and innovative researchers.
>
> BBDiag responds to such a need and timely sets up an ETN with the required
> interdisciplinary expertise and cutting-edge technologies to provide a
> high-quality triple-i (interdisciplinary, intersectoral and international)
> research platform for the training of a new generation of early-stage
> researchers (ESRs) for the development of such an important diagnostic
> technology. Our consortium consists mainly of leading academic and
> industrial experts drawn from 5 major consortia across Europe with
> expertise in AD blood biomarkers (The International Blood-Based Biomarker
> Interest Group), preclinical & clinical validation and trials (FP7 &
> Alzheimer Europe PharmaCog), and biosensing & AD (FP7-NADINE, UK - Sensing
> for Dementia and H2020 Graphene Flagship). These experts will bring to the
> ETN the state-of-the-art of their respective consortia to provide the core
> multidisciplinary expertise of the network. Additional high-quality
> academic, industrial and international partners are also brought into the
> consortium to strengthen the ETN in its triple-i dimensions, cutting-edge
> technology, entrepreneurship. Concerning the triple-i dimension of the
> consortium, the ETN involves seven academic, six non-academic and two
> international Institutions, whose expertise spans across five major
> scientific disciplines (Life science, Engineering, Physical science,
> Healthcare, and Economics). Six non-academic institutions (4 companies) are
> involved in the ETN demonstrating the strong cross-sectoral (public &
> private sectors) participation and contribution to the research and
> training programme.
>
>
>
> *The main Training objectives (TO) of the ETN:*
>
> TO1. To set up a multidisciplinary ETN for the training of ESRs for blood
> biomarker-based diagnostics for early stage AD with four main training
> features: discovery & innovation, “triple-i” research & training,
> entrepreneurship, and skills set for future leaders (see page 3 for
> detail).
>
> TO2. To rigorously train the Fellows for domain-specific knowledge, skills
> and hands-on experience by the provision of cross-disciplinary/cross-sectoral
> supervision teams complemented with personal mentoring to make them highly
> competent in achieving the scientific objectives (SOs) of the project (see
> pages 2-3). To empower the Fellows to be the leading experts in their
> respective fields by placing them at the forefront of the scientific
> challenges with opportunities to make advances to take their fields beyond
> the current state-of-the-art.
>
> TO3. To provide extensive training for all Fellows to attain the
> fundamental interdisciplinary knowledge and skills for the whole BBDiag
> field spanning across engineering, physical science, life science,
> healthcare & business, to ensure that the Fellows are true polymaths able
> to meet their future career challenges.
>
> TO4. To provide specialized network training on entrepreneurship covering
> all aspects of the innovation process, coupled with extensive secondment
> opportunities with industrial, clinical and international partners to
> develop Fellow’s innovative thinking and business mind-set.
>
> TO5. To train the Fellows to develop a complete set of transferable
> knowledge, skills and behavior of world-class researchers by a series of
> local, work-package based and network-wide training events, specially
> designed under the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (Vitae RDF) - an
> innovative researcher training model endorsed by the UK Joint Research
> Council.
>
>  The research & training platform spans across four scientific themes:
> Biosensing & PoC devices, AD biomarker discovery, Validation and trials,
> and Exploitation & entrepreneurship. The strong interaction and integration
> across the four scientific themes are crucial to the training through
> research and to the central RTD goal of the ETN, i.e., the development of
> blood biomarker-based diagnostic tools for early-stage AD.
>
>
>
> *The scientific objectives (SO) of the BBDiag project:      *
>
> SO1.      To develop novel graphene and ELISA barcoding based multiplexed
> biosensing techniques with embedded electronics for the detection of a
> panel of blood-based AD biomarkers at clinically relevant concentrations.
>
> SO2.      To discover a panel of most reliable early-AD blood biomarkers
> by employing innovative techniques.
>
> SO3.      To develop a fully integrated prototype point of care (PoC)
> diagnostic tool for early-stage AD.
>
> SO4.      To carry out preclinical and clinical validation for assessment
> of reliability & pathologies of biomarkers.
>
> SO5.      To carry out clinical trials for evaluation of diagnostic
> accuracy of the BBDiag PoC tool.
>
> SO6.      To develop an innovative business model and exploitation
> strategies for early-AD diagnostics, and to explore novel commercial and
> clinical applications of the technology.
>
>
>
> *The main features of the training programme: *
>
> •             Discovery & innovation: The scientific excellence of the ETN
> is characterized by “discovery & innovation”.  The project identifies the
> main scientific challenges for developing blood-based AD diagnostics and
> proposes innovative approaches to address these challenges. It aims at the
> discovery of blood-based AD biomarkers and cutting-edge technological
> innovations in biosensing, AD diagnostic tools, ICT healthcare platforms
> and big data AD diagnostics, clinical trials, and business modeling for
> early-stage AD diagnosis. This presents an excellent multidisciplinary
> research platform for the Fellows to be trained through research to gain
> interdisciplinary knowledge, expertise, and skills. They will have the
> opportunities to make scientific advances to take their own respective
> fields beyond the current state-of-the-art and empower them to be the
> leading experts in this emerging field (linked to TO1 and SOs1-5).
>
> •             “Triple-i” research & training Interdisciplinary is the
> nature and also one of the challenges in the development of blood-based AD
> diagnostics as the research spans across a wide range of disciplines. This
> underlines the need for the training of interdisciplinary knowledge and
> skills for a new generation of Fellows. The ITN aims to make its Fellows
> true polymaths – having a specialty with high expertise in one
> subject-discipline (linked to TO2) and also the capacity to engage
> technically/intellectually with cross-disciplinary fellows in life science,
> engineering, physical science, clinicians and regulators of this emerging
> field (linked to TO3). The inter-sectoral research and training experience
> of our fellows will be achieved by contributions from the 5 industrial
> beneficiaries and 2 nonacademic partners in the form of co-supervision,
> network training events, secondments and hosting of 5 ESRs. Two
> international partners are leading institutions in China and will
> contribute to secondments, co-supervision and network training in
> biosensing and AD clinics and trials (linked to TO4).
>
> •             Entrepreneurship: The ETN has involved the participation of
> Beneficiaries from two companies and one academia in Business Studies,
> supported by an industrial partner in IP enterprising, to provide a
> platform for the Fellows to interact with business leaders of the field for
> developing their entrepreneurship skills and mind-set. This is further
> enhanced with additional network entrepreneurship training and secondments
> in the 6 non-academic Beneficiaries/partners (linked to TO4).
>
> •             Skills set for future leaders: The skills set is
> tailor-designed under the innovative Vitae RDF in conjunction with the
> BBDiag triple-i research & training platform, across the four Vitae
> domains: Knowledge & intellectual ability, Personal effectiveness and
> professional conduct, Research governance and organization, and Engagement,
> influence and impact, for the training of a complete set of skills,
> attributes and mind-sets for a new generation of highly-skilled, talented,
> creative, & entrepreneurial ESRs. This is complemented with the
> implementation of a Vitae self-assessment facility for regular monitoring
> of the training progress of each ESR and a personalized Vitae Career
> Development Planner (CDP) for helping the Fellows to maximize their
> potential and get the most out of their careers. (linked to TO5).
>
> SRs in these different and new environments will also present challenges
> for them to learn new knowledge and skills outside their comfort zone and
> to develop the ability to make imaginative leaps of understanding across
> disciplines/ research areas/ agendas and beyond academia.
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Catania
>
> Phone : +39 095 378 5504 <+39%20095%20378%205504>
>
> Mobile: +39 349 376 2671 <+39%20349%20376%202671>
>
> Fax   : +39 095 337 938
>
> eMail : roberto.barbera at ct.infn.it
>
> Web   : http://www.dfa.unict.it/docenti/roberto.barbera
>
> ORCID : http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5971-6415
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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