Assistant (post-doc) at the Department of Neurobiology Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences – full-time

Maj Institute of Pharmacology Polish Academy of Sciences (further called Institute or IP PAS) announces a competition for the position of an assistant (post-doc) at the Department of Neurobiology for the implementation of tasks in the NCN Opus 21 (2021/41/B/NZ4/02603), “Molecular mechanisms of 5-HT7R-mediated resilience in stress-related disorders“.

We are seeking an assistant (post-doc) interested in conducting behavioural and biochemical research at the Department of Neurobiology IP PAS.

Project Leader: prof. dr hab. Jakub Mateusz Włodarczyk

Coordinator of the project from the side of IP PAS: dr hab. Bernadeta Szewczyk 

A candidate for the position of an assistant (post-doc) should meet the following conditions:

1. A PhD degree in biological or medical or related sciences obtained no earlier than 7 years before the year of employment in the project. This period does not include career breaks due to maternity leave, additional maternity leave, leave under the conditions of maternity leave, additional leave under the conditions of maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or childcare leave, granted in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code,
   or due to receiving sickness benefits or rehabilitation benefits related to incapacity for work, including incapacity caused by illness requiring therapeutic rehabilitation. For female candidates, the indicated 7-year period may be extended by 18 months for each child born or adopted. A woman may choose the more beneficial method of accounting for career breaks;
2. Experimental experience in molecular and cellular biology, including Real-time PCR, Western blotting, and confocal immunofluorescence analysis;
3. Experience in managing and/or implementing research projects (e.g., NCN grants);
4. Completion of PolLASA (or equivalent) training certified for individuals planning and conducting procedures and experiments involving laboratory animals, as well as euthanizing animals used in procedures, in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific or Educational Purposes (Journal of Laws 2023, item 46);
5. Experience working with animals in experiments involving chronic stress models and behavioral tests assessing depressive-like behavior and the antidepressant activity of substances;
6. Subject knowledge in the fields of neurobiology, genetics, biochemistry, and behavioral pharmacology;
7. Familiarity with bioinformatics methods and experience in the analysis of high-throughput data (e.g., RNA-seq, proteomics);
8. Excellent skills in analyzing experimental data and preparing scientific publications;
9. A scientific track record documented by authorship and co-authorship of publications in peer-reviewed journals, including at least two publications as first author;
10. Ability to work both independently and as part of a team;
11. Candidates who defended their PhD dissertation at IP PAS are eligible to apply, provided that the project leader was not their supervisor or co-supervisor, and they have completed at least a 10-month, continuous, and documented postdoctoral internship at an institution other than the one implementing the project and in a country other than the one in which the PhD degree was obtained;
12. If selected for the position and employed within the project, the candidate may not receive any other remuneration from funds allocated under the direct costs of NCN-funded projects, nor be employed under any other employment contract;
13. Proficiency in English, sufficient for fluent scientific communication, manuscript and report preparation;
14. Exemplary ethical conduct.

Additional assets:

1. Experience in studying the serotonergic system in depressive disorders;
2. Participation in national and international scientific conferences;
3. Proficiency in Polish.

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

1. Carrying out the behavioural procedures planned in the project in a model of chronic unpredictable mild stress in mice;
2. Performing behavioral tests related to assessing pro-depressive behavior and resilience in stress;
3. Conducting experiments with the use of biochemical and molecular methods;
4. Performing statistical analyses of all research results, including large data analysis;
5. Preparation of the manuscripts for publication and presentation of the obtained results during scientific conferences ;
6. Strict adherence to the code of ethics of the Polish Academy of Sciences employees;
7. Adherence to rules and regulations in force at the IP PAS.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Full-time employment in the project based on an employment contract for a period of
13 months.

  REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

1. Application for employment for the above-mentioned position together with a cover letter with a description of scientific interests;
2. List of information about the candidate in accordance with Appendix 1 to the Form;
3. Personal questionnaire for a person applying for employment in accordance with Appendix 2 to the Form;
4. A copy of the doctoral diploma or a certificate of obtaining a doctoral degree;
5. Short self-presentation;
6. A copy of the certificate of completion of training in conducting research with the use of laboratory animals;
7. Contact details of persons who can provide information about the candidate and who agreed to be contacted;
8. Certificate of English language proficiency, if available;
9. Declaration of the primary workplace and affiliation of research and publication in accordance with Appendix 3 to the Form;
10. Information on the processing of personal data in accordance with Appendix 4 to the Form;
11. A declaration of impeccable ethical attitude in accordance with Appendix 5 to the Form.

Applications along with the required documentation should be sent in electronic form to the following e-mail address: ifpan@if-pan.krakow.pl by August 7, 2025.

The title of the message should indicate which competition the application concerns “Competition – assistant (post-doc) at the Department of Neurobiology IP PAS, grant Opus 21”.

The winner of the competition will be selected from among those meeting the formal requirements based on the analysis of documents and possible interviews.

Please be advised that we will contact only selected candidates and we will not return the submitted documents. We reserve the right to void the contest without giving any reason.

 For additional information, please contact:

Bernadeta Szewczyk, PhD – Coordinator of the project from the side of IP PAS, +48 12/6623288

 Date of the competition announcement:  July 21, 2025

Deadline for submitting applications:  August 7, 2025

Date of the competition settlement:  August 18, 2025