The CaixaResearch Institute is a newly established immunology research center with the mission of becoming a global leader in immunological research. It focuses on studying immune system processes and their interaction with the most prevalent diseases, including neurological, oncological, and infectious conditions, as well as on analysing the influence of environmental factors. The institute is devoted to understanding the role of the immune system in health and disease, analysing the environmental factors that influence these processes, and developing advanced technologies to observe and decode them in greater detail.

The institute is part of the rich ecosystem of biomedical research centres supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, which includes ISGlobal, the Barcelona Beta Brain Research Center (BBRC), VHIO, IRSICaixa, and the Sant Joan de Déu Foundation—all based in Barcelona—as well as The Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM) in Lisbon.

CaixaResearch Institute invites applications from outstanding postdoctoral researchers interested in applying for an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026 in the field of biomedicine. EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships support excellent postdoctoral researchers throughout Europe and the world for a period of up to two years. International mobility is a key requirement. The fellowship includes a salary or stipend, a relocation allowance and support for fellows with children. Awardees can attend an EMBO Laboratory Leadership course and become part of the global network of EMBO Fellows.

Candidates are encouraged to review the list of CaixaResearch Institute labs currently accepting EMBO fellows (see below) to identify research areas that align with their interests and find an appropriate CaixaResearch Institute supervisor.

Key dates

• To apply: contact us by 5 June,2026
• Call deadline: 10 July, 2026.

Eligibility

Please carefully confirm that you meet the eligibility criteria for this call before applying. More information: EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships guidelines.

Doctoral degree

• Applicants must hold a doctorate or equivalent at the start of the fellowship.
• Applicants who already hold a PhD at the time of application are eligible only if they obtained it during the two years prior to the date of submission.

Publication record

• Applicants must have at least one first-author publication (research paper) accepted or published in an international peer-reviewed journal at the time of application.
• A first-author preprint with public in-depth peer reviews from an independent service is also accepted. Informal comments or individual reviews are excluded.

Mobility

• All applications must involve movement between countries.
• Applications to the country in which the PhD was obtained will not be considered.
• Applications to return to a laboratory where the candidate has worked for more than six months in the past will not be considered.
• Applications to the laboratory, institute or department in which the candidate completed their PhD, or to work again with their PhD supervisor (regardless of location), will not be considered.
• Candidates who have already started in the host laboratory may apply only if they have been working there for less than six months at the time of submission.

Other conditions

• Candidates may submit only one application per round.
• Reapplication is permitted once only.
• Projects that are a direct continuation of the PhD work are not eligible.
• Exceptions to eligibility rules may be considered for extraordinary personal circumstances such as parental leave, severe illness, or military service. No exceptions will be made for voluntary career breaks.

Nationality

Any

What we offer

• A salary or stipend in line with EMBO guidelines, a relocation allowance, and support for fellows with dependent children.
• The opportunity to join a newly established immunology research center, with state-of-the-art infrastructure and a transversal research environment.
• Becoming part of the ecosystem of research centres supported by ”la Caixa”.
• Institutional support throughout the application process.

Selection procedure

• Candidates will be selected based on their CV and experience.

Host laboratory and field of expertise

The CaixaResearch Institute labs currently hosting or accepting EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship candidates are the following:

Héctor Huerga-Encabo Lab

• Keywords: Somatic mutations, bioinformatics, clonal evolution, inflammation, scRNASeq, epigenetics
• Expertise in hybrid wet/dry research, combining cutting-edge experimental and computational approaches, will be highly appreciated.

If you are interested in applying for an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship with this lab as host please contact [email protected]. Kindly include “EMBO-Huerga-Encabo Lab” in the subject line of your email.

Application materials: CV (incl. publication list) + Summary of the research proposal (up to ½ page) + motivation statement (including fit with the host lab).

María Mittelbrunn Lab

• Keywords: Immune Aging, Lipid metabolism,
• Postdoctoral scientist with a strong background in immunology, tissue regeneration, peroxisome biology, and/or lipid metabolism.

If you are interested in applying for an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship with this lab as host please contact [email protected]. Kindly include “EMBO-Mittelbrunn Lab” in the subject line of your email.

Application materials: CV (incl. publication list) + Summary of the research proposal (up to ½ page) + motivation statement (including fit with the host lab).

María Martínez Lab

• Keywords: neuroimmunology, stress, tumor, brain
• Expertise in Mutiome, ATAC seq.

If you are interested in applying for an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship with this lab as host, please contact [email protected]. Kindly include “EMBO-Martínez Lab” in the subject line of your email.

Application materials: CV (incl. publication list) + Summary of the research proposal (up to ½ page) + motivation statement (including fit with the host lab).

Josep Dalmau Lab

• Keywords: Keywords: animal models, CAR T-cell technology, flow cytometry, development of monoclonal antibodies.

If you are interested in applying for an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship with this lab as host please contact [email protected]. Kindly include “EMBO-Dalmau Lab” in the subject line of your email.

Application materials: CV (incl. publication list) + Summary of the research proposal (up to ½ page) + motivation statement (including fit with the host lab).