Do you want to do excellent research supported by one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in Europe? Do you want to work at a leading research institution with colleagues from all over the world? Do you want to be mentored by world-class scientists? DKFZ Marie Curie MasterClasses support you achieving it.

The DKFZ offers 29 places to apply for the Marie Sklodowska Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSC-PF) 2024 with the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) as host institution and combine it with appropriate support actions to increase your success chances. Projects are available in all areas of cancer research and are located in Heidelberg/Mannheim, Dresden, Mainz and Munich. 

Available cancer research areas include:

• Biochemistry
• Cancer biomarkers
• Cancer immunology
• Cell and molecular biology
• Epidemiology
• Imaging and radio oncology
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence
• Medical physics
• Multi-omics
• Structural biology

Benefits

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSC-PF) are granted by the European Commission and fund postdoctoral research projects for up to 24 months.

Benefits include:

• Postdoc salary including social security contributions and health insurance.
• Family allowance.
• Budget for research, training and networking.
• Access to a worldwide network of fellows and alumni.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the call 2024 of the MSC-PF you:

• Need to hold a PhD degree. Your thesis must be defended before September 11, 2024.
• Must have a maximum of 8 years of postdoctoral research experience from the date of defense of your PhD and until September 11, 2024. Career breaks (parental leave, military service, work outside research, etc.) do not count towards the amount of research experience.
• Must not have resided or worked in Germany for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the September 11, 2024.

Our support actions

Is this your first time writing a research proposal? Are you unsure about how to write a successful research plan? Not sure, who can be your supervisor? We help you with this:

• List of available Principal Investigators at DKFZ.
• You submit your pre-application and we check your eligibility for this call and put you in contact with the Principal Investigators of your choice.
• If there is a match between you and a DKFZ PI, we support you during the whole application process.
• Marie Curie MasterClasses: three online workshops between June and July 2024 on how to plan and write a successful MSC-PF proposal.
• One-to-one feedback and consultation with experienced grants experts during the whole preparation and application process.

Application

Send us via email ([email protected]) by May 13, 2024:

• Form: “Registration as pre-candidate for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSC-PF, Call 2024)”. In this form, you can indicate up to three possible DKFZ Principal Investigators you would like to work with.
• CV including list of publications (max. 3 pages) – at least one publication as first author (or shared first authorship) is required to be considered for the fellowship.
• Motivation letter (max. 1 page): tell us about your research interests and career plans. Why would these three principal investigators be a good match for you? What can you bring to their groups?

Next steps

• Shortlisted pre-candidates will be contacted by one or more DKFZ Principal Investigators in May and June.
• If there is a match, you will write a proposal for the MSC-PF together with the PI and with our support.
• Selected candidates will be invited to join three online MasterClasses organized by the DKFZ Grants Office on June 26, July 3 and July 10, 2024.
• If you are selected by a DKFZ Principal Investigator, the deadline for the submission of the MSC-PF proposal to the European Union is September 11, 2024.
• The decision on the award of the MSC-PF is expected in February 2025 and the earliest fellowship start is expected to be April 2025.

Note: Submission of a proposal and participation in the support activities do not guarantee a postdoctoral position at the DKFZ. An employment contract may only come to place in case of award of the MSC-PF by the European Commission.

For more information visit Marie Curie MasterClasses (dkfz.de) or contact us via email ([email protected]).

Image by Dr Juan Pablo Rigalli.