Opportunities

Many of you may remember a lecture we recently hosted given by Dr Daniel Mograbi from Brazil: Exploring self-awareness through neuroscience: studies with clinical groups and psychoactive substances.

The Mograbi Lab, based in Rio, Brazil have a postdoc position available to focus on psychoactive substances and self-awareness.

The fellowship is for one year.

It pays R$5200 monthly (roughly R200 000 for the full year), sufficient to live in Rio as a single student. Although the fellowship does not include travel costs, Dr Mograbi has kindly offered to cover the SA-Brazil-SA airfare with some of his other funding.

The ideal start date would be in March, but they can be flexible in terms of the arrival date, with the possibility of starting work remotely for the first few months.

No previous research experience with psychoactive substances is needed, but ideally someone with a solid methods background and experience in studies with humans. 

Candidates should send a CV and information on previous research work to danielmograbi@puc-rio.br.

Please share widely with anyone that may be interested.

Universitat Pompu Fabra (Barcelona) is opening applications for the Dorcas Muthoni PhD Fellowship, a unique program supporting African women in ICT-related research.

What's offered?

• 4-year fully funded PhD contract in ICT (AI, Networks, Multimedia, Bio/Neuro-Computing, etc.)
• Competitive salary & relocation support
• Full tuition covered
• Research and teaching experience at a top European university

Who can apply?

• Women of African nationality (without a prior PhD)
• Must hold a degree qualifying for the UPF ICT PhD Programme.
• Good English level (B2)
• Not resident in Spain for >12 months in the last 3 years

Timeline

• Applications: Sept 1, 2025 – Jan 15, 2026
• Results: Feb 20, 2026
• Program start: Oct 2026

More Info

All the information can be found here: https://www.upf.edu/web/phd-engineering/dorcas-muthoni-phd

For any inquiries, contact: phd.engineering@upf.edu

As part of their Wellcome Research Development Programme, the EthicsLab invite proposals for Catalyst Grants to provide modest support for research projects lasting 6-12 months. These grants are designed to spark new ideas, sustain ongoing work, or help projects grow toward greater impact - offering the flexibility to support both exploratory studies and more developed projects.

Find the submission form here

And subscribe to their mailing list here

More info: ethicslab@uct.ac.za

As part of their Wellcome Research Development Programme, the EthicsLab invite proposals for academic residencies for Africa-based scholars to join them for up to three months to work at the intersection of African humanities and technology (and open to suggestions). The costs of flights, accommodation, and a small per diem to cover expenses is included.

Find the submission form here

And subscribe to their mailing list here

More info: ethicslab@uct.ac.za 

As part of their Wellcome Research Development Programme, the EthicsLab invite proposals for academic retreats to co-host with them on one of the topics below. Meetings would last 3 to 4 days, be fully-funded and have up to 15 South African, other African, or international participants. 

We are particularly interested in proposals on the following non-exhaustive list of possible themes: 

• Power and order: Technology as a political and ideological project
• Climate justice and planetary ethics
• The political economy of emerging technologies
• Digital colonialism, imperialism, and decolonisation
• Data justice
• Humanism, posthumanism, and transhumanism in African thought.
• Relationality and moral status in African theory.

Find the submission form here

And subscribe to their mailing list here

More info: ethicslab@uct.ac.za 

The EthicsLab use their Webinar Series as a platform for sharing ideas and sparking conversations on the ethics of emerging technologies. We invite you to shape the program by:

• Proposing yourself as a speaker: Share your work, experiences, or insights.
• Suggesting others: Tell us who you’d like to hear from and what questions matter most.

They are particularly interested in proposals on the following non-exhaustive list of possible themes: 

• Power and order: Technology as a political and ideological project
• Climate justice and planetary ethics
• The political economy of emerging technologies
• Digital colonialism, imperialism, and decolonisation
• Data justice
• Humanism, posthumanism, and transhumanism in African thought.
• Relationality and moral status in African theory.

Find the submission form here

And subscribe to their mailing list here

More info: ethicslab@uct.ac.za

The Fellows-to-Faculty Award program supports talented early career scientists by facilitating their transition into tenure-track faculty positions. The focus of this program is the $600,000 USD three-year faculty research grant. Additionally, fellows engage with a community of investigators and receive mentoring and peer support during their transition.

The Simons Foundation’s Autism & Neuroscience division offers the program to nurture new talent and to broaden the community of scientists contributing to the scientific missions of our programs. We drive innovation and collaboration by supporting scientists with a diverse mix of minds, backgrounds and experiences.

This request for applications (RFA) is intended for Ph.D. and/or M.D.-holding scientists currently in mentored research training positions who intend to seek tenure-track research faculty positions during the upcoming academic job cycle. Applicants must have a scientific vision for their future independent laboratory that advances the mission of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) or Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB).

More info here.

We are pleased to invite all healthcare professionals and medical students, as well as any neuroscientists working in the epilepsy space, to the Epilepsy Training in Adult Medicine (ETAM) workshop taking place on 4 January 2026 at the Neuroscience Institute / Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town. 

This workshop forms part of a broader three-day ETAM programme (12–14 January 2026), an initiative supported by an ILAE EPI-ACT Grant to strengthen epilepsy care across South Africa. The overall course aims to upskill clinicians at the first point of contact for people with seizures, ensuring earlier recognition, improved management, and better outcomes for individuals living with epilepsy. For non-clinicians it will help with translatability of knowledge. 

While the first two days are dedicated to training a selected group of future ETAM faculty from across Africa, the final day (14 January) is open to all healthcare professionals and medical students. The newly trained faculty will lead short lectures, interactive small-group workshops, real-world case discussions, and evidence-based debates designed to build confidence in managing adults with epilepsy in acute and non-acute settings.

You will find full details in the flyer attached, including registration categories and pricing. Lunch and coffee are included for all attendees.

To join us, please register via the QR code on the flyer, or click on the link below:

Register for the ETAM workshop

Early registration is recommended as spaces are limited.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Sarah Jacobs at etam@ilaesa.org.

The roles of the postdoctoral fellow will include leading and contributing to neuroimmunology research and related admin, co-supervision of students, and teaching as part of their own development into an independent academic. The available project requires skills in neuroimmunology/molecular biology especially tissue culture and flow cytometry.

Requirements and Qualifications

• PhD, MD/PhD or equivalent in Neuroscience, Immunology, Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, Mycology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering or related fields, obtained within the last 5 years.

• Evidence of peer-reviewed publications in their relevant research area.

• Demonstrated strong skills in immunology or molecular biology techniques especially cell or tissue culture, flow cytometry, bioimaging and multiplexing.

• Good programming/statistical ability (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB) and a good working knowledge of statistical modelling would be an added advantage.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in a multicultural, interdisciplinary team, and willingness to travel to the UK for collaborations.

Tenure and value:

The Fellowship comes with a tax free value of R450 000 per annum. The Fellowship carries no fringe benefits. Thefellowship is tenable for 2 years

The successful applicant must be available to commence with the Fellowship on 1 March 2025, or on a mutuallyagreed start date.

To apply, please e-mail in a single pdf file the documents listed below to rachael.dangarembizi@uct.ac.za with the subject Application: Neurocytometry Postdoctoral Fellowship

- A letter of motivation outlining your research interests and why this position interests you.

- A full Curriculum vitae (CV) including academic qualifications, publications and relevant research experience

- Certified copies of all academic transcripts and degree certificates.

- Contact details of at least 2 referees (one of who should be your PhD or Postdoc supervisor)

The roles of the postdoctoral fellow will include leading the analysis of complex data sets arising from single nucleus RNA Seq, spatial transcriptomics and metabolomics projects. A good knowledge of infectious diseases research would be an added advantage.

Requirements and Qualifications

• PhD or or equivalent in relevant field, obtained within the last 5 years.

• Demonstrated experience in multiomics analysis. Competency in programming languages including but not limited to Python and R.

• Evidence of peer-reviewed publications in their relevant research area

• Doctoral/Postdoctoral training in clinical or laboratory sciences would be an added advantage.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in a multicultural, interdisciplinary team, and willingness to travel to the UK for collaborative research.

Tenure and value:

The Fellowship comes with a tax free stipend of R450 000 per annum. The Fellowship carries no fringe benefits. The fellowship is based in Cape Town and is tenable for 2 years with possibility of extension subject to funding availability.

The successful applicant must be available to commence with the Fellowship as soon as possible or on a mutually agreed start date.

To apply, please e-mail in a single pdf file the documents listed below to rachael.dangarembizi@uct.ac.za with the subject Application: Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Fellowship

- A letter of motivation outlining your research interests and why this position interests you.

- A full Curriculum vitae (CV) including academic qualifications, publications and relevant research experience

- Certified copies of all academic transcripts and degree certificates.

- Contact details of at least 2 referees (one of who should be your PhD or Postdoc supervisor)