PhD Research Fellowship at the University of Padova

2–3 minutes

The BioComputingUP Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova is looking for a highly motivated candidate interested in applying for an upcoming PhD position focused on the development and evolution of the DisProt platform. The official doctoral call is expected to open shortly, and we are currently looking for potential candidates interested in joining our team. 

The successful candidate will work full-time on the development, maintenance and evolution of the DisProt platform, contributing to the implementation of new features, improvement of the user experience, integration of biological resources and development of AI-assisted tools for biocuration and data analysis. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a widely used international scientific resource while working in a multidisciplinary environment at the interface of bioinformatics, software engineering and biomedical research.

The selected candidate will join the BioComputingUP Laboratory, an international research group of more than thirty researchers working at the intersection of biology, medicine and computer science, headed by Prof. Silvio Tosatto. The group develops computational methods and community resources, including DisProt and MobiDB, and actively participates in ELIXIR and several European research projects.

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop new features for the DisProt web platform and underlying infrastructure.
  • Maintain and improve existing software and databases.
  • Design and implement new tools for data visualization, search and analysis.
  • Develop AI-assisted functionalities to support literature curation, annotation and data quality assessment.
  • Integrate external biological databases, ontologies and APIs into the DisProt ecosystem.
  • Contribute to database architecture, backend services and frontend improvements.
  • Participate in software design, testing, documentation and deployment.
  • Collaborate with bioinformaticians, biocurators, web developers and international collaborators to define new functionalities.

Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Software Engineering or a related discipline.
  • Strong programming skills (Python required; experience with JavaScript, databases, REST APIs, Git and Linux is an advantage).
  • Interest in developing scientific software and biological databases.
  • Experience with web development is appreciated.
  • Familiarity with AI or large language models is considered an advantage but is not required.
  • Good communication skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary international team.

Opportunities

  • Become one of the main developers of DisProt, a leading international biological database.
  • Develop software used daily by researchers worldwide.
  • Contribute to the design of next-generation biocuration and AI-assisted annotation tools.
  • Collaborate with international research infrastructures such as ELIXIR and Horizon Europe projects.
  • Present your work at international meetings and contribute to open-source software and scientific publications.

How to apply

Applicants are invited to submit a recent CV and a concise research/personal statement describing background/qualifications, future goals and reasons for the interest in this position. In addition, please include names and contact info of one (or more) professional reference in your CV.

Contact Information: biocomp@bio.unipd.it (please copy mariacristina.aspromonte@unipd.it and silvio.tosatto@unipd.it in cc)

Applications wil be accepted until July 21, 2026.