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Opportunities

Prospective PhD students and postdocs

I’m always very happy to bring talent to the group. If you would like to do your PhD thesis or a postdoc with us, I will be very pleased to see your CV and a letter of motivation explaining why you chose our lab. Getting a PhD position is usually very competitive: financial support is limited and I prefer not to have too many students supervised at once (so I can remain efficient). Decisions will be based on academic record (which is often important to obtain funding), previous experience, letters of recommendation, etc. I encourage prospective students to contact past and current lab members to get their opinions regarding the group.

 

Who will fund my PhD?

Doing a PhD means developing a successful research line during various years, and this requires funding. You will be a committed professional and deserve to be recognised as such with a proper salary, this is why I prefer not to bring on board students without formal support (usually a pre-doctoral scholarship).

In addition, you will do expensive field and laboratory work, travel abroad to conferences, etc. In our group, research expenses are covered by grants (check our Research section  for funding examples). Ultimately, it is my responsibility to obtain funding for the lab, but you will be encouraged to take the lead to write small applications that help support your own investigations.

 

Prospective undergraduate and Master’s students

I always welcome motivated students in the lab. We usually have a few master’s and undergraduate students doing their theses with us, and we also accept students in minor introductory projects. We usually offer small research projects to our Master students (of the various UCM programs), but we also supervise projects based on students’ own ideas when they fit in our lab. Feel free to contact me for an interview.

 

A sample of funding possibilities

Here you are a few directions for Spanish funding you may use to join the lab. Foreign candidates, please also check for opportunities from your own country. I didn't add links because they change every year, but all the programs listed below are easily found using your favourite search engine.

PhD studentships:

FPU program (Formación de Profesorado Universitario). PhD studentships with possibilities to travel abroad during your PhD project. There is an equivalent program from our University (becas predoctorales UCM), and research grants may have similar studentships associated to them (FPI program). 

Postdocs:

Juan de la Cierva. The superstar program to hire postdocs in Spain. Successful applicants need to have a strong publication record AND join a productive group (which will be evaluated too). Our group has been competitive every time we have presented candidates.

Attracting research talent to the Community of Madrid. This program was designed to attract talented postdocs to the region of Madrid. The junior modality is the regional equivalent to the Juan de la Cierva program. Search for Ayudas destinadas a la atracción de talento investigador a la Comunidad de Madrid en centros de I+D.

UCM teaching and research training program. A program designed by our University to hire talented researchers. Search for Ayudas para contratación de personal posdoctoral de formación en docencia e investigación en los Departamentos de la UCM.

If you are already turning senior:

Ramón y Cajal fellowships. A tenured 5-year research contract. Applicants are postdocs within 10 years of thesis defence, and the programme is highly competitive. To get an idea of your possibilities, look at the scientific record of successful applicants last year (the list is published in Internet). OK, this is not something to join someone else's lab, as a RyC fellow you are expected to set your own team and research lines. Anyway, keep it in mind in case you are interested in joining our Institute. It is an excellent platform from which to interact with many strong groups, and Madrid is a very pleasant town to live in.

Attracting research talent to the Community of Madrid. There is a senior modality of this program, designed to attract talented postdocs to the region of Madrid and help them set their own groups. It is the regional equivalent to the Ramón y Cajal program. Search for Ayudas destinadas a la atracción de talento investigador a la Comunidad de Madrid en centros de I+D.