Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Precision Medicine for Glioblastoma

IEO - European Institute of Oncology

Milan, Italy

The Laboratory of Giuliana Pelicci at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan, Italy, in collaboration with the laboratory of Stefano Santaguida invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the field of precision oncology for glioblastoma. The position is fully funded by the FRRB Call 2024 “BANDO RICERCA COLLABORATIVO UNDER 40”, within the project “Glioblastoma: Leveraging Metabolic Dependencies for Personalized Treatment (GLIDE)”.

The fellowship will support cutting-edge translational research aimed at developing an advanced drug screening (ADS) platform for functional and real-time profiling of GBM metabolic dependencies.

The position will be available from November 2026.

Project Overview

Glioblastoma (GBM) is characterized by profound interpatient and intratumoral heterogeneity, which contributes to therapeutic resistance and almost inevitable disease recurrence. A growing body of evidence indicates that GBM stem-like cells can adapt their metabolism to sustain tumor growth and survival under therapeutic pressure, suggesting that metabolic dependencies may represent actionable vulnerabilities. However, metabolic phenotypes are highly heterogeneous and dynamic, and are not routinely incorporated into treatment selection because robust approaches for their functional characterization at the individual-patient level are still lacking.

Responsibilities

The selected postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for:

• Establishing and molecularly characterizing patient-derived glioblastoma models (in vitro and in vivo);
• Applying and optimizing the advanced drug screening workflow;
• Generating, analyzing, and interpreting multi-omics datasets (genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenetic);
• Contributing to data integration and translational interpretation within a multidisciplinary research team.

Candidate Profile

We are seeking a highly motivated, independent, and collaborative researcher with:

• Phd in scientific disciplines;
• a strong background in stem cell biology, molecular biology, cancer biology, or related fields;
• demonstrated experience in multi-omics approaches, particularly transcriptomic dataset analysis and interpretation (considered a significant asset);
• strong communication skills and the ability to work in an interdisciplinary and international environment.