Predoc position in “ New strategies to reduce immunosuppression in the tumuor microenvironment\" PRE16301102026 IP. Annabel Valledor

Organisation/Company Universitat de Barcelona Department Organisation profile Research Field Biological sciences Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Other Positions Application Deadline 16 Oct 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37,5 Offer Starting Date 15 Dec 2026 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? No

PhD student position in Immunology at the University of Barcelona.

A PhD position is available at the Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology in the field of tumor immunology under the supervision of Drs. Annabel Valledor and Mónica Pascual.

We are looking for a motivated PhD student candidate to study novel strategies to overcome immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, within the framework of a project financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (PID OB-I00, PI: A. Valledor). The project aims to advance scientific knowledge in the context of osteosarcoma and of solid tumors in general by identifying novel targets and/or improving emerging strategies to modulate the tumor microenvironment, particularly its immune components. We offer a full-time one-year contract extendable to two more years. The successful candidate will enroll in the Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona. Candidates must hold a degree that allows admission to the official doctoral programme at the University of Barcelona.

• Degree in Biology, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences or equivalent
• Master in Immunology (or equivalent)
• Research experience in Immunology and/or Cancer research
• Excellent skills in English and proficiency in Spanish or Catalan
• Excellent interpersonal skills: motivation, initiative, teamwork abilities, flexibility
• Good university grade point average (higher than 8)
• Training Course for Personnel Handling Experimental Animals for the Functions of Care, Euthanasia, Execution of Procedures, and Design of Projects and Procedures (functions a, b, c, and d) in Rodents.

• Experience in cell culture, flow cytometry, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics
• Experience in macrophage biology research

• Analysis of tumour growth in mice, using models of primary solid tumours and metastatic lesions. Intervention studies using pharmacological drugs and/or immunotherapy.
• Analysis of the immune cell populations and their activation state within the tumour microenvironment, using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence.
• Analysis of single cell-RNA sequencing data.
• Analysis of gene expression by quantitative real time-PCR.
• Mechanistic studies in primary macrophages in vitro.
• BSc in Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Biotechnology or equivalent
• Training Course for Personnel Handling Experimental Animals for the Functions of Care, Euthanasia, Execution of Procedures, and Design of Projects and Procedures (functions a, b, c, and d) in Rodents.
• Research background in Immunology and/or Cancer research
• Expertise in cell culture, flow cytometry, gene expression analysis and bioinformatics

The researcher will have the possibility to participate in teaching activities for professional development (not obligatory).

A committee will evaluate the applications using the following criteria:

• Grade point average of the academic transcripts from the applicant's bachelor's and master's degree studies: up to 5 points out of a total of 10.
• Curricular merits: up to 1 point out of a total of 10 in accordance with the specific criteria listed in Annex 1.
• Suitability for the tasks to be performed within the framework of the research project: up to 4 points out of a total of 10.

The committee will agree upon an award proposal and draw up a prioritized shortlist of candidates who have achieved a minimum of five points or declare the call for applications null and void if none of the applicants reach the minimum score.

The award proposal will be published in the UB electronic office and must include the total scores of the candidates that have received a total of at least 5 points.

According to the specific requirements and selection criteria, the candidates are expected to provide at least the following documents:

• Full CV

• BSc and MSc academic transcript

The candidate pro