Purpose
Grants to hire recently graduated doctoral students in the field of health sciences and technologies to further their training.
The purpose of these contracts is to:
- Encourage the participation of research staff in the National Health System (SNS) and promote the recruitment of young researchers into the Spanish System of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
- To promote the professional development of researchers in health sciences and technologies at National Health System (SNS) centers.
- Strengthen the capacity of the research groups to which the new hires will be assigned.
Requirements
The following may be eligible entities:
- Health research institutes accredited by ministerial order (IIS).
- Public healthcare entities and institutions that provide clinical care: hospitals, primary care centers, and other healthcare facilities not included in the preceding categories that hold a healthcare operating license issued by the competent authority.
- Public health entities and institutions without a health activity license, but with demonstrable R+D+I activity in the area of knowledge of Public Health.
- Private healthcare entities and institutions, with a healthcare activity license, linked or contracted to the SNS.
The host research groups must be different and belong to an institution other than the one where the candidates completed their doctoral dissertations, unless the candidate has completed a postdoctoral fellowship abroad lasting at least one continuous year. In the case of IISs, the host groups may not belong to the same IIS as the groups where the candidate completed their doctoral dissertation.
Contracts must be linked to research groups led by a researcher holding a doctoral degree who has a civil service, statutory, or employment relationship with the applicant entity. In the case of IISs, the researcher must have a civil service, statutory, or employment relationship with the National Health System (SNS) clinical care center or with the IIS’s managing entity, provided that the researcher carries out all of their professional activities at the clinical care center.
All proposals submitted for this type of contract must fall into one of the following categories of research groups:
- Groups led by researchers born in 1981 or later, with a track record of scientific output that suggests they have the potential to become highly competitive groups, must submit proposals for distinctive and innovative research initiatives that do not involve the breakup of preexisting groups.
- The usual groups of this modality, which must comply with the general conditions established in the different sections, without any other specific conditions.
Those who are currently leading Sara Borrell research projects under active contracts awarded through the AES’s 2024 and 2025 calls for proposals are not eligible to apply as group leaders in this call.
Individuals who meet the following requirements are eligible to apply:
- Have obtained a doctoral degree—defined as the date on which the doctoral dissertation was defended and approved—on or after January 1, 2022.
In the event of a justified interruption of studies, the date of the defense and approval may precede January 1, 2022, with the deadline extended by the periods specified for each of these situations, provided that they fall between January 1, 2022, and the deadline for submitting applications. - You must not be participating in a Sara Borrell Contract at the time of application, nor have completed one previously.
If the candidate holds more than one doctoral degree, the requirements listed above shall apply to the first degree obtained.
Application
Applications and all other required documentation must be submitted exclusively through the ISCIII’s online portal.
The application forms will only require the signature of the legal representative of the applicant entity, who will collect the signatures of the rest of the interested persons (candidates and principal investigators), taking responsibility for their custody and veracity.
Applications must be accompanied by the following documentation:
The following are an integral part of the application:
- Proposal report in Spanish or English, using only the standardized template for AES 2026.
- Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CVA-ISCIII) in Spanish or English, automatically generated by the CVN editor or by any institution certified under the FECYT’s CVN standard that offers the CVA-ISCIII service, for both the head of the receiving group and the candidate.
In addition, the applications must be accompanied by (documentation that can be corrected):
- Copy of valid passport, only in the case of foreign citizens not residing in Spanish territory.
- Doctoral degree or academic transcript showing the grade received on the doctoral dissertation and the date the doctoral degree was awarded.
- If you have completed an FSE program abroad, an FSE certificate that has been accredited or recognized by the competent authority.
- Documentary evidence of any interruptions, if applicable.
- Documentary proof of the stay abroad, indicating the start and end dates of the stay and details of the activities carried out during that period, for those candidates who are participating as part of the same group or at the same institution where they are completing their doctoral dissertation.
- Full text of the selected publications, unless they are open access.
Call for Applications Guidelines
The complete terms and conditions of the call for applications can be viewed by clicking here.