UNIR (Universidad Internacional de La Rioja) is a leading private online university that specializes in distance learning for higher education. As part of the Proeduca group, it serves tens of thousands of students across Spain and Latin America, offering a vast catalog of accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in various fields including law, business, and education.

Headquartered in Logroño with a major corporate presence in Madrid, UNIR is a key employer for academic professionals, digital marketing specialists, and EdTech experts. The university is particularly attractive to international hires due to its global reach and the increasing demand for multilingual academic coordinators and professors with international research backgrounds.

Founded in 2008 in Logroño, UNIR was established to provide accessible online higher education. It has since grown into one of the largest online universities in the Spanish-speaking world and is the flagship institution of the Proeduca Altus group.

For international professionals

Operates on a 100% online education model, which often translates to flexible or hybrid work arrangements for corporate and academic staff.
The university is a major player in the Spanish-speaking world, providing opportunities for professionals to work on projects spanning Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and Peru.
Frequently recruits ANECA-accredited faculty and researchers, making it a viable path for international academics looking to enter the Spanish university system.
Main offices are located in Logroño (La Rioja) and Madrid, offering options for those preferring either a smaller city with a high quality of life or a major European capital.

PhD position in the MSCA-DN “CanGoNano”

UNIR

Benefits

The selected candidate will become part of the CanGoNano Doctoral Network, benefiting from a unique international research and training environment that brings together leading academic institutions, research centres and industrial partners across Europe.
A 36-month full-time employment contract funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) programme.
Competitive salary and employment conditions in accordance with the MSCA regulations and the host institution's policies.
Enrolment in the PhD Programme in Molecular Biosciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Personalised scientific supervision by internationally recognised experts in glycoscience, nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy.
Access to state-of-the-art research facilities and multidisciplinary expertise at UNIR, UAM and partner institutions.
International mobility through planned secondments at leading European research organisations and biotechnology companies.
A structured training programme covering both scientific and transferable skills, including innovation, communication, entrepreneurship, research management and career development.
An inclusive, collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment committed to excellence in doctoral training.

Original Advert

PhD Position in the MSCA Doctoral Network "CanGoNano" - Glyconanomaterials for the Delivery of Peptide Antigens or mRNA in Breast Cancer Models: Formulation and Anti-Cancer Efficacy

Offer Description

CanGoNano is a European Doctoral Network funded under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) programme. The network focuses on the development of glyconanomaterials (GNMs) as precision tools to advance our understanding of antigen-presenting cell (APC) activation against cancer through the delivery of antigenic peptides and mRNAs encoding these peptides.

Within the CanGoNano consortium, the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR) is recruiting one Doctoral Candidate (DC14) to undertake research on the development of glyconanomaterials for the delivery of peptide antigens or mRNA in breast cancer models.

The candidate will be based in Madrid and Logroño (Spain) and will join the MEDONLINE Research Group at UNIR: https://investigacion.unir.net/grupos/35492/detalle and the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO-UAM: https://www.uam.es/uam/investigacion/grupos-de-investigacion/detalle/f1-95

Research Project

This PhD project will focus on:

Characterization and transfection of HER2 breast cancer cell lines.
Set up of the doses of breast-transfected cell lines, kinetics of tumour progression and immune responses in vivo.
Evaluation of GNM formulations (including or not adjuvants) and doses to activate immune organs in vivo.
Examine the capacity of GNM as breast cancer immunotherapies: prophylactic vs therapeutic effects.
Training in GNM assembly & formulation, anti-cancer immunotherapy, establishing breast cancer in mice, bionanotech, biointeractions.

Host Institution

Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Spain https://www.unir.net

Duration

36 months, starting on 15 February 2027.

Supervisors

Prof. Carmen Álvarez-Domínguez, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR), Spain

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carmen-Alvarez-Dominguez

Prof. Nuria Gironés Pujol, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nuria-Girones

Co-supervisor

Dr. Jürgen Mairhofer, EnGenes Biotech GmbH (Austria)

Planned Secondments

The Doctoral Candidate will benefit from international secondments within the CanGoNano consortium:

CNRS (France) - Prof. Catherine Menard-Moyon (Year 2, 1 month): training in the synthesis of amino acid-based nanoparticles (AA-NPs).
EnGenes Biotech GmbH (Austria) - Dr. Jürgen Mairhofer (Year 3, 1 month): training in lectin expression technologies.

Doctoral Programme

The selected candidate will be enrolled in the PhD Programme in Molecular Biosciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain.

https://www.uam.es/EscuelaDoctorado/(en_GB)-Programa-Doctorado_Biociencias_Moleculares/1446833580304.htm

The position offers

The selected candidate will become part of the CanGoNano Doctoral Network, benefiting from a unique international research and training environment that brings together leading academic institutions, research centres and industrial partners across Europe.

A 36-month full-time employment contract funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) programme.
Competitive salary and employment conditions in accordance with the MSCA regulations and the host institution's policies.
Enrolment in the PhD Programme in Molecular Biosciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
Personalised scientific supervision by internationally recognised experts in glycoscience, nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy.
Access to state-of-the-art research facilities and multidisciplinary expertise at UNIR, UAM and partner institutions.
International mobility through planned secondments at leading European research organisations and biotechnology companies.
A structured training programme covering both scientific and transferable skills, including innovation, communication, entrepreneurship, research management and career development.
An inclusive, collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment committed to excellence in doctoral training.

Application

Further information about the CanGoNano Doctoral Network: https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/448431 and the application process is available at: https://cangonano.eu/

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