Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Research fellow in peripheral innervation and barrier tissue models

Italy

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Commitment & contract: collaboration contract, 6 months, Fellow position

Location: Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care (CABHC), Naples

Step into a world of endless possibilities, together let’s leave something for the future!

At IIT, we are committed to advancing human-centered Science and Technology to address the most urgent societal challenges of our era. We foster excellence in both fundamental and applied research, spanning fields such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and material sciences, offering a truly interdisciplinary scientific experience. Our approach integrates cutting-edge tools and technology, empowering researchers to push the limits of knowledge and innovation. With us, your curiosity will know no bounds.

We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering diversity in all its forms, creating an inclusive environment. We value the unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of our people. By embracing diversity, we believe science can achieve its fullest potential.

THE ROLE

You will be working in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary group, where junior and senior scientists collaborate, each with their expertise, to carry out a scientific activity with a shared research goal.

The Bio-logic Research unit is coordinated by Prof. Paolo Netti. The research focuses on the development of advanced in vitro models to investigate the functional communication between the nervous system and peripheral tissues. The activity will contribute to the generation of interconnected biological models reproducing peripheral innervation and barrier tissue interfaces, with particular emphasis on their response to biochemical stimuli and selected compounds.

Within the research team, your main responsibilities will be:

  • Development and characterization of in vitro models integrating peripheral neuronal components with barrier tissue models
  • Investigation of innervation and functional communication between neural and non-neural tissue compartments

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

  • A MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, or related disciplines
  • Documented experience with mammalian cell culture and advanced 3D in vitro models
  • Familiarity with multicellular, co-culture, or 3D culture systems for studying interactions between different cell or tissue compartments
  • Knowledge of cellular and morphological characterization techniques, in particular histological analysis
  • Experience with barrier tissue models or neuronal cultures or peripheral nervous system models is considered a plus
  • Experience in the evaluation of cellular and tissue responses to biochemical compounds or external stimuli is highly considered
  • Good command of spoken and written English

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

  • Experience in disease modeling is considered a plus
  • Interest in neural tissue engineering and neurodegenerative disease modeling
  • Ability to work in a challenging and international environment
  • Capacity to work autonomously and collaboratively in a highly interdisciplinary environment
  • Possess Analytical Reasoning skills and a growth mindset

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

  • A yearly gross salary of 30.000,00 euro
  • Private health care coverage depending on your role and contract
  • Candidates from abroad or Italian citizens who have carried scientific research activity permanently abroad and meet specific requirements, may be entitled to a deduction from taxable income of up to 90% from 6 to 13 years.

This open position is financed by "Gemelli digitali per le malattie del sistema nervoso centrale e la Medicina personalizzata” (acronimo: GEMINI, hub capofila: RAISE S.c.a.r.l., hub congiunto: MNESYS S.c.a.r.l.) per la realizzazione dell’Azione 1.1.2 prevista dal Decreto Direttoriale n. 307 del 18/03/2025 nell’ambito del Programma Nazionale Ricerca, Innovazione e Competitività per la transizione verde e digitale 2021-2027 (PN-RIC 2021-2027) ammessa al finanziamento in data 03/03/2026 (Decreto Direttoriale n. 766 del 03/03/2026 e relativi allegati, cod. MI 622, MI 1_02824450999_0000622), codice unico di progetto (CUP): B79H26000060007

Please submit your application using the online form and including a detailed CV, cover letter, and 2 reference letters.

Application’s deadline: October 24th, 2026

To discover more about life at IIT, visit the dedicated section here: https://www.iit.it/en/work-at-iit

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