Research stay grant for interdisciplinary training in neuroscience and releated areas

The Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno Foundation, through its International Centre for Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET), announces this call for a grant for a research stay at a public or private international institution (or, in the case of applicants who are nationals of other Member States of the European Union, a Spanish institution) of maximum academic prestige. It is aimed at researchers with a PhD who want to enhance their interdisciplinary training in neuroscience and other fields of study (e.g., human biology, bioethics, psycholo- gy, philosophy, physics or history). Theoretical or empirical projects that propose a true dialogue between two or more of these disciplines will be considered, with the aim of improving the understanding of the brain, overcoming monodisciplinary paradigms, propo- sing original answers to the mind-brain problem, discussing and anticipating the main ethi- cal challenges of neuroscience, and dealing with specific issues generally present in inter- disciplinary forums, such as consciousness, subjectivity and free will.

• The grant will be awarded to natural persons who have obtained a doctorate, regardless of the date it was obtained. Interdisciplinary profiles will be especially valued, although applicants who, having trained only in one discipline (for example, neuroscience or philoso- phy), want to carry out a research stay to deepen their understanding of a complementary field of knowledge (philosophy or neuroscience, in this case).
• The call is open to people of any age who are nationals a Member State of the European Union and who propose to join a Spanish institution (in the case of non-Spanish European applicants) or an institution of another country in the world (in the case of Spanish appli- cants).
• The applicant must have been admitted, or must have a firm offer to be admitted, to a university or research centre for the requested period.

The grant has a duration of twelve (12) months.

The grant amount includes:

• A gross annual allowance of €40,000, payable monthly.
• Travel expenses of a maximum of €1,200.
• Illness and accident insurance paid by the Foundation (not extendable to any family mem- bers who may accompany the beneficiary during their stay abroad).
• Annual family support of €1,200 for each minor dependent child.
• Additional financial aid of €4,000, which the grant holder may use to cover installation, attendance and registration expenses at congresses during the period of receiving the grant, or open-access publishing expenses (in this case, for up to 6 months after the end of the grant period). These expenses must be justified in the final report that the beneficiary submits to the Foundation at the end of the grant period.
• The monthly instalments, as well as the rest of the financial aid, will be paid by the Founda- tion to the beneficiary of the grant, for which purpose the beneficiary will provide a bank certificate of the account held by the beneficiary into which the Foundation must make the deposits.
• In compliance with current tax regulations, the corresponding withholding will be applied to all amounts that constitute the amount of the grant.
• Payment of the travel expenses requires previous presentation and documentary accredi- tation to CINET of the originals of the invoices and of any other documentation that is consi- dered necessary. The amount of justified expenses may not exceed the maximum amount granted.
• Any additional contribution received by the applicant must be declared to CINET, which will determine the complementarity of the additional aid.
• The Grants are awarded exclusively for carrying out a research stay at an international aca- demic institution, so they do not fall in the scope of Royal Decree 63/2006 of January 27, which approves the Statute for Research Staff in Training, nor in the scope of Royal Decree 1493/2011 of October 24, which regulates the terms and conditions of inclusion in the General Social Security Regime of people who participate in training programmes. Benefi- ciaries who are nationals a Member State of the European Union other than Spain and who carry out their research stay in a Spanish institution are also outside the scope of applica- tion of the above regulations.

Receipt of this grant is incompatible with the receipt of other grants or public or private financial aid for the same purpose and period.

This scholarship is also incompatible with contractual or statutory commitments that prevent exclusive dedication to research.

The applicant must submit the following documentation in a single PDF, in Spanish or English:

• Application form.
• Short curriculum (maximum 4 pages), with special emphasis on interdisciplinary training or interest in it.
• Complete academic record. Photocopy of doctoral degree.
• Summary of the applicant’s research career and interests (maximum 500 words). • Summary of the research project (maximum 500 words).
• Project report (maximum 5 pages), specifying the context, objectives, methodology, work plan and calendar, and the contribution the stay makes to the applicant’s interdisciplinary training and to the research topic.
• Any one of the following three documents from the receiving institution: 1) a letter of recommendation from the supervising researcher at the receiving institution; 2) a letter of admission (or “invitation”) from the supervising researcher or from their department; 3) an admission commitment (or “invitation”) from the receiving university or research centre for the requested period.

The application must be sent in a single PDF to the email info@fundaciontatiana.com, completing the form downloadable from the website (www.cinetcenter.com), and attaching all the information requested in the previous section.

The application submission deadline 11:59 p.m on 30 September 2023. No application with incomplete documentation or that is submitted after this deadline will be accepted.

CINET may require the applicant to provide any original or certified documents that it deems appropriate related to the information contained in the application, as well as two academic references who can be consulted about the applicant from an academic or professional point of view.

Applications will be evaluated in a first phase by a Committee appointed by the CINET Board of Directors. This Committee will comprise members of the Board itself, members of the Cen- tre’s Advisory Council, or ad hoc international experts designated by the Board. The evalua- tion criteria will be the following:

• Contribution of the stay to the interdisciplinary training of the applicant (30%)
• Relevance and interest of the project (30%)
• Applicant’s curriculum, weighted according to the applicant’s years of experience (20%)
• International prestige of the receiving institution and career of the supervising researcher at the receiving institution (20%).

Candidates who pass this phase will be called for a personal interview, which will be carried out in the manner, place, day and time established by the Foundation. Members of the CINET Board of Directors will be present and will select, from among the candidates who obtain the highest score, the one that best suits CINET’s purposes. Substitutes may be designated to cover the case of the selected person forgoing the awarded grant.