You are here: Home / RESEARCH / Research Opportunities / CLOSED - Biota-Synthesis Program, São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil

CLOSED - Biota-Synthesis Program, São Paulo Research Foundation, Brazil

by Richard Meckien - published Jun 27, 2018 10:40 AM - - last modified Apr 19, 2022 10:35 AM

Deadline: March 15 (until 10:00 am), 2022 (UTC-3)

The Biota-Synthesis program seeks eight highly qualified postdoctoral fellows to be part of a "Center of Analysis and Synthesis of Nature-based Solutions." The Center will be funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for a 5-year period (2022-2026) and brings together researchers from five universities, seven research institutes of the State of São Paulo and four NGOs, as well as technicians and decision makers from the State Secretariats of Infrastructure and Environment, Public Health, and Agriculture. The Center will be based at the IEA.

The goal of the Center is to support the State of São Paulo in the development of socio-environmental public policies related to agricultural sustainability, ecological restoration, zoonosis control, and disease prevention in urban areas, considering essentially nature-based solutions. It will work following a "synthesis science" approach, with heterogeneous and collaborative working groups, which will meet periodically in an immersive way for brainstorming discussions. These meetings will be intercalated with the analysis and modeling of existing databases, where the active participation of postdoctoral fellows is expected.

The desired profile for these postgraduates is of professionals with great ability to work collaboratively in teams, with high capacity for listening and dialogue with researchers and social actors with different backgrounds and professional experiences, in addition to the modeling and analysis capabilities that will be detailed for each profile. Although the postdoctoral positions are open to Brazilian and foreign researchers who have a PhD degree, fluency in Portuguese is desired to facilitate the discussion and dialogue with the different actors involved in the project. Each postdoctoral fellow will have a specific research project and supervisor, but it is expected that this group of fellows will work together, in close collaboration with the coordination team of the Biota-Synthesis.

FAPESP postdoctoral fellowships are competitive (R$ 7,373.10 - approximately US$ 1,340.00) and granted for 24 months, with the possibility of extension for two additional years. The fellowships include a research contingency fund, equivalent to 10% of its annual value which should be spent on items directly related to the research activity.

Applications must be submitted through the following form. Should there be any questions, please send a message to biotasintese@usp.br. A same applicant can apply for more than one scholarship at the same time.

Necessary documents:

• Curriculum Vitae following the FAPESP format, including Lattes (for Brazilian candidates), ORCID, and Publon links, as well as citation indicators (e.g. number of publications and citations, H index); please indicate experience in teamwork and with the development of public policy, if applicable;

• Research statement specifying why the candidate is suitable for the fellowship position;

• Three reference persons who can be consulted if the candidate is selected for an interview.

For each of the 8 fellowships, 3-5 candidates will be selected for an interview (to be conducted virtually). The initial selection will consider the adequacy of the candidate to the fellowship profile, as well as the candidate's professional experience and publication records.

The interviews are expected to take place at the end of March/beginning of April, and the fellowship will begin in May, after validation of the selective process by FAPESP, according to the Foundations's norms (Portuguese only). All postdoctoral fellows will be formally linked to the postdoctoral program (Portuguese only) of the University of São Paulo.