MSCA Postdoctoral Individual Fellowship on: Luminescent Nanomaterials for Theranostics

Organisation / Company Università degli Studi di Verona Department Department of Biotechnology Is the Hosting related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Prof. Adolfo Speghini, within the Nanomaterials Research Group of the Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona (Italy), invites scholars to present expressions of interest in applying jointly with himfor a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (MSCA-PF) on Luminescent Nanomaterials for Theranostics.

Theranostics is the ability to affect the diagnosis, therapy, or treatment of a disease state, encompassing a wide range of subjects, such as personalized medicine and molecular imaging, to develop efficient, targeted therapies. To this end, various kinds of hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterials (Hyb-NMs) can be developed and functionalized, for instance loaded with luminophores and/or drugs to gain anticancer therapeutic abilities, as photothermal or photodynamic therapy. Hyb-NMs can be activated via optical radiation in the Near InfraRed (NIR) range, e.g., 650-950 nm (NIR-I) or 1000-1700 nm (NIR-II), which is very useful for developing techniques and devices for in‑vivo theranostics. The Hyb-NMs are self-assembled, embedded, or encapsulated nanostructures comprising luminescent inorganic NMs (e.g., oxides or fluorides), metal coordination complexes, and organic dyes, acting as NIR-I or NIR-II emitters or photosensitizers.

Hosting research group / Supervisor

We are looking for applicants for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, with our Department as the main host institution.

Prof. Adolfo Speghini research activity focuses on the development of multifunctional inorganic nanomaterials (NMs) for nanomedicine, particularly for diagnostics and therapy. Prof. Speghini has decades of experience supervising PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in nanomaterials. In particular, attention was paid to the development of luminescent nanomaterials with various architectures as contrast agents in biomedicine.

The NRG group has focused in recent years on fluoride-based nanomaterials, such as CaF2 or SrF2 activated with lanthanide ions, as Yb3+, Tm3+, Er3+ and Nd3+, which have proved to be interesting as luminescent probes for diagnostics as well as therapy (photothermal or photodynamic therapy). These luminescent NMs also proved useful for detecting local temperature around body temperature using non-invasive methods. The optical thermometry ability of these NMs has been demonstrated using ratiometric methods involving emission bands in the visible and in the NIR region. A nanoparticle architecture based on a multi-layer system, suitably activated with lanthanide ions, improves both the emission efficiency and, consequently, the thermometric sensitivity and the photodynamic therapy efficacy.

Selected candidates will be offered both academic and administrative support from the Centre/Department and the University of Verona Grant Office for proposal preparation.

Candidates must be eligible according to the criteria established by the 2026 MSCA Postdoctoral fellowship call:

• To have a PhD at the call deadline (September 9, 2026)
• To have up to 8 years research experience after PhD
• To be citizens of an EU State or of an Associated Country or long-term resident in Europe (only for Global Fellowship)
• Not to have resided or carried their main activity in Italy for more than 12 in the 36 months before call deadline (September 9, 2026) – for European Fellowship
• Not to have resided or carried their main activity in the country of the Host Institution in the third country for more than 12 in the 36 months before call deadline (September 9, 2026) – for a Global Fellowship.

Besides, candidates should be fluent in English, should have excellent teamwork attitude, organizational skills and ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment.

• A short CV including personal data (name, date of birth, present position, name of a referee who has agreed to send a reference letter for you
• A two-pages research proposal
• One reference letter should be sent by a referee to the same address

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