FONDAZIONE UMBERTO VERONESI POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS 2018 - unito . it

FONDAZIONE UMBERTO VERONESI
POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS 2018

Science progresses wherever there is true exchange: the sharing of experience, know-how,
procedures, solutions, and results has always led to scientific progress. Fondazione Umberto
Veronesi (FUV) promotes the concept of science without boundaries, supporting advanced
professional training for qualified postdoctoral fellow and clinical scientists both from Italy and
abroad. As a part of this mission, FUV will award 150 fellowships to top-level scientists in the field
of biomedical research, aiming to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of prevention
and cure of chronic diseases and in clinical research.

For 2018, FUV offers:
- One hundred and forty (140) 12-month fellowships to promote original clinical and experimental
research in leading Italian research institutions. Each fellowship provides a gross sum of € 27,000
(before tax).
- Ten (10) 6-month travel grants to support Italian researchers, working in Italy at the time of
application, who wish to spend 6-month period of research in a top-level laboratory or clinical
department at a foreign institution. Preference will be given to projects allowing the learning of new
methodologies and innovative technologies, in order to increase the exchange of skills and know-
how between Italian and foreign Institutions. Each fellowship provides a gross sum of €15,000
(before tax).

RESEARCH AREAS
FUV supports the highest quality research projects (whether fundamental, translational, or clinical)
designed to identify novel approaches to the PREVENTION, EARLY DETECTION and DIAGNOSIS,
and TREATMENT of human diseases (patient-centered) in the fields of ONCOLOGY,
CARDIOVASCULAR diseases and NEUROSCIENCE.

PREVENTION - Projects focused on life styles (i.e. diet, smoke, physical activity, nutrigenomics)
aimed at
    preventing diseases
    identifying disease risk factors
    improving longevity and life quality

EARLY DETECTION and DIAGNOSIS – Projects focused on early disease detection and
monitoring including:
   disease and disease recurrence/metastasis biomarkers
   minimally invasive approaches (i.e. liquid biopsies, miRNAs, etc)
   diagnostic imaging tools

TREATMENT – Projects focused on the development of new approaches and treatments. First
priority for funding is highly innovative, high-risk approaches with high-impact potential to major
challenges in biomedical research, particularly in the area of personalized medicine.
     disease model systems
     drug discovering and delivering
     clinical trials

Grants will cover both experimental and clinical research:

1. Experimental research grants are aimed at supporting researchers working on fundamental and
translational research projects:
       Fundamental science – studies that will produce major mechanistic insights into human
       diseases, with potential application to new therapeutic approaches.
       Translational science – studies that involve pre-clinical development and early clinical
       testing of novel therapeutics or diagnostics, including “repurposing” of existing drugs.
2.Clinical research grants are restricted on studies in humans aimed at obtaining a greater
understanding of disease mechanisms, at assessing clinical efficacy and in vivo mechanisms of new
treatments, and at improving therapeutic protocols and patient management.

RESEARCH TOPICS OF INTEREST
ONCOLOGY
Fight against cancer is one of the major interest for FUV. The Foundation aims at sustaining the
most promising research projects in this wide scientific field. However, scientists and medical doctors
working on female (breast, ovary and uterus), male (prostate, testicle, bladder) and pediatric
tumors are particularly encouraged to apply. For those a number of grants will be reserved:
       female tumors: 25; male tumors: 10; pediatric tumors: 15

NEUROSCIENCE
Due to a still poor understanding of brain physiology, prevention and treatment of neurological
disorders are limited and often not sufficiently effective.
FUV aims at sustaining researchers devoted to the study the mechanisms underlying major
neuropsychiatric pathologies including neurodevelopmental (i.e. autism, Rett syndrome),
neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. Parkinson and Alzheimer, dementia) and psychiatric
disorders (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder).

CARDIOLOGY
Together with tumors, cardiovascular diseases are the major killers in developed countries. For these
reasons FUV sustains projects focused on the prevention and treatments of pathological conditions
such as stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary artery diseases and pharmacological
cardiotoxicity.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
12-month fellowship
    o Experimental research. Italian and foreign researchers holding a scientific degree preferably
        in Medicine, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, or Biotechnology. In addition, post-
        degree research (i.e., specialization or PhD) in health-related fields is required. Selected
        candidates must carry out their research work in leading Italian institutions.
    o Clinical research. Italian and foreign medical doctors. Candidates must hold a degree in
        Medicine and have clinical and/or post-degree research experience (i.e., specialization or
        PhD). Selected candidates must carry out their work in leading Italian Institutions and shall
        – based on their expertise – become members of specialized clinical teams, led by top level
        referents. Please make sure that all qualifications held by foreign candidates are equivalent
        to their Italian counterparts, in order for them to be able to work as clinicians with patients in
        Italy. Candidates who do not fulfil the legal requirements to work as clinicians in Italy will be

excluded from the evaluation procedure. Please be explicit in the Letter of Acceptance by
       the Hosting Institute that the candidate meets the legal criteria to work as a clinician.
    The 12-month fellowships will only be awarded to researchers (Italian or foreigners) for research
    work in Italian institutions. There are no fellowships available for research work outside of Italy.
6-month fellowships
    o TRAVEL GRANTS. Travel grants are limited to Italian citizens working in Italy at the time
       of application. Candidates should preferably hold a scientific degree such as Medicine,
       Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, or Biotechnology. Clinical and/or post-degree
       research experience (specialization or PhD) in a health-related field is mandatory.

For ALL the fellowships:
- Candidates must have officially obtained a PhD or specialization degree not later than 31st
December 2017.
- All candidates (except women with children) must be under the age of 43 on 1st January 2018.
If awarded, the candidate will be asked to confirm in writing that he/she is under the age of 43.
- Women with children are allowed to count one extra year per child (for example: women with 1
child can apply if they are younger than 44 on 1st January 2018 and so on). If awarded a grant, the
candidate will be asked to show a “family certificate” to be able to receive the fellowship.
- Candidates must have at least one original paper as first/co-first/last/co-corresponding
author and at least one other article (original or review) in peer-reviewed international journals.
“In press” articles are eligible publications but a DOI number if available and a proof of manuscript
acceptance is mandatory. Submitted/under revision manuscripts, book chapters, and conference
abstracts and proceedings are not considered eligible publications.

EVALUATION PROCEDURES
All applications sent by the deadline and meeting the eligibility criteria will be evaluated by a
Scientific Committee.
Candidates will be awarded funding based on the following criteria:
1. Quality of the applicant’s scientific CV.
               Please note that academic and professional achievements, studying/working
               experience abroad, and the quality of publications (i.e., the impact factor – IF – of the
               journals), will be a part of the selection criteria.
2. Quality of the proposed research project.
               Compliance with the call and field of application, feasibility, innovation, and
               translational basis of the project, as well as the potential of the outlined research to
               make a substantial contribution to the field, will be evaluated.
3. Quality of the Hosting laboratory and Institution.
               Quality of the Host Institution (in terms of laboratories, facilities, etc.) as well as the
               competence of the Principal Investigator (P.I. – either being the head of the hosting
               laboratory and/or the senior scientist supervising the overall research project including
               candidate proposed activities), such as expertise in the field of the project, mentoring,
               international standing, etc., will be evaluated.

GUIDE TO PROPOSAL APPLICATION

To start application submission, please enter your name, surname, email address, fiscal code and
your proposed type of research (experimental or clinical). You will then be directed to the correct
application form.
In the submission form, you will be asked to provide, in separate files, the following documents:
i) candidate’s CV (max 4000 characters including spaces). Candidates who have had a period of
justified absence from work (i.e. maternity leave), may state it in the CV.
ii) list of scientific peer-reviewed publications (no character limits). It is mandatory to clearly
indicate the IF of every single publication mentioned in the application. Please report the IF of a
journal as IF in 2016 and not in the year of publication. Only original papers and reviews will be
evaluated for the publication record. Paper ‘in press’ are eligible only if an Editor ‘letter of acceptance’
is provided to borse@fondazioneveronesi.it. Posters/abstracts at conferences, meeting
proceedings, and book chapters will not be considered for evaluation but can be included.
iii) a short abstract of the proposed project (max 2000 characters including spaces).
iv) a description of the proposed research project – background, experimental plan, and description
of expected results and future applications to health – (max 9000 characters including spaces),
v) PI’s CV (max 2000 characters including spaces) including the field of investigation, up to five
selected publication of the last ten years, and granted founding (optional). Requested CV is from the
PI of the laboratory where the project will be carried on (i.e. for travel grants, the CV will refer to the
PI of the foreign lab).

Please note that during the application process you will be also asked to upload the following
documentation:
   Two letters of recommendation not dated before 1st January 2017 (mandatory). One letter can
    be written by the hosting P.I.
    A letter of acceptance by the hosting Institute, signed by the legal representative of the Institute
    (mandatory). For travel grants, the hosting institution is intended the foreign laboratory the
    candidate is applying for. This letter must include the declaration that, if the candidate is awarded
    with a FUV fellowship, he/she will be able to carry out his/her research in that institution. Please
    also include in the acceptance letter the name of the laboratory, the name of the
    P.I./Professor/Group leader who will supervise the candidate, the department and the Institution
    where the research will take place.
    A report on any previous projects undertaken with a grant from Fondazione Umberto Veronesi
    (if any) (max three pages)
   Preliminary results of the project (if available) (max two pages).
All application materials must be written in English.
All files must be in PDF or Word format.
Each candidate is allowed to enter only one application. Candidates who enter more than one
application will be excluded from the evaluation process.

FUNDING REGULATIONS
The total amount of each 12-month fellowship grant is € 27,000 (before tax) or € 15,000 euro (before
tax) for 6-month travel grants. The fellowship is only meant to pay the researcher’s salary
and cannot be used to cover other expenses (lab reagents and supplies, etc.).
Part of the gross salary will be directed to tax coverage (IRPEF, Italian regional retains), so the net
amount will be roughly equal to € 21,000 or € 11,700, respectively. The FUV fellowship does not pay
for retirement contributions, such as INPS.

The fellowship can be terminated at any time by giving timely notice (at least 15 days before
interruption) to FUV by email at: borse@fondazioneveronesi.it
The fellowship CANNOT be combined with any other form of bursary; similarly, the fellowship is not
compatible with either temporary or permanent employment by any other Institution; the fellowship
is compatible with forms of funding other than the above, provided that they do not exceed a total of
€ 10,000 (before tax) per annum.
Our Fellowship guarantees to each researcher an insurance covering permanent disabilities
resulting from a workplace-related accident or disease, fatal accidents and a partial reimbursement
of medical expenses. Please note that all expenses covered by the DGL 81/2008 (Attuazione
dell’articolo 1 della legge 3 agosto 2007, n. 123, in materia di tutela della salute e della
sicurezza nei luoghi di lavoro) are under the responsability of the hosting Institute. Please state
clearly in the acceptance letter that the hosting Institute agrees to this clause.

REPORTING
Fellows will be required to produce short reports on their research activity, describing their progress
and results obtained. One mid-term report after 6 months and one final report at the end of the 12
months are required for both experimental and clinical fellowships. One final report at the end of the
6 months is required for the Travel Grants.
The mid-term report is required within the first two weeks of the seventh month of the fellowship.
Please note that if FUV does not receive the mid-term report by this deadline, payment will be
suspended until the report is submitted.
The final report must be submitted at least two weeks before the end of the 12th month. The last
payment will not be paid until FUV has received the final report.
All reports must be uploaded online through a personalized link that will be sent by email a few weeks
before the deadline. Reports sent via mail will not be accepted.

DURATION
Grants awarded by FUV will have a duration of 12 months (for fellowships in experimental and clinical
research) or 6 months (for travel grants) and will start on the 1st January 2018. However, the
starting date can be postponed until no later than 1st April 2018. It will not be possible, under any
circumstances, to further postpone the starting date.
Candidates who have previously been granted FUV fellowships may apply again: however, they are
required to follow the standard application procedure and upload a short description of the projects
already funded by FUV, indicating key findings and results.

AWARD OBLIGATIONS
It is mandatory for all successful applicants to acknowledge FUV in any publications, including
those related to the granted proposal and those generated from any other research activities carried
out during the period supported by FUV.
Once a candidate has been granted the fellowship, by accepting it, he/she agrees to cooperate with
FUV in its dissemination activities and promotion of its scientific research, whenever required. The
candidate must therefore be available to be interviewed for articles in printed and online journals
and participate in promotional events (such as a press conference, meetings in schools, and one
or two events with the general public) or other scientific dissemination activities organized by FUV.

Researchers working in Italy will be asked to organize at least one meeting in one school in their
city/region during the year of the fellowship, with the goal of promoting engagement between young
students and the scientific world. Foreing fellows will be asked to meet students of bilingual schools.
More information will follow for the successful applicants.

DEADLINE
All applications must be sent no later than 20th September 2017 23.59 (Central European
Time, CET). After completing the online form you will receive a confirmation email at the email
address supplied. The list of awarded candidates will be published on our website
www.fondazioneveronesi.it on the 21st December 2017.
We strongly recommend to avoid sending your final application last minute, because this could
cause overloading of the system and some applications could be lost without being registered by the
deadline. The deadline is strict and we will not, under any circumstances, accept applications sent
after.

To apply for our fellowships, please visit www.bandiveronesi.it
For any further information, feel free to contact the Fondazione Umberto Veronesi at the following e-
mail address: borse@fondazioneveronesi.it.
Please, limit telephone calls to emergency issues. With few exceptions, you will not find
personnel endorsed to give applications, funding and administrative information by phone.