The National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) invites research scientists from developing countries in ASEAN to participate in the Human Resource Development Program in Biotechnology for year 2016. The Program aims to build up R&D capability for developing countries as well as fostering research network among countries in this region. The Program places importance on improving research skill, thus it is designed to be an on-the-job and research-based training in BIOTEC’s laboratories. Two types of training will be on offer: fundamental courses (3 months) and advanced courses (6 months). The training course consists of classroom session, designing and conducting a mini research project and site visit to factories or project sites. A total of 13 fellowships will be provided. Eligibility
- Must be scientists currently being employed in either a public or private academic institute, OR a governmental research organization in the list of eligible countries. Some courses are only open to specific countries, so please check the detail in the available course section.
- Must hold at least a Bachelor’s degree in sciences for application to a fundamental course or at least a Master’s degree in sciences for application to an advanced course. All applicants must have finished course work in biology, microbiology or any related areas that will be required for particular training topics.
- Must have good command in English.
- Must be able to attend the course, during;
4.1) 1 August – 30 December 2016 only for a Fundamental Course F-1
4.2) 3 October – 30 December 2016 for a Fundamental Course F-2 – F-6
4.3) 3 October 2016 – 30 March 2017 for an Advanced Course A-1 – A-7 - Must not be older than 32 years of age as of 1 October 2016.
- Since the training is research-based and trainees will be working in the laboratories, applicants must show on his/her application form that his/her current job involves research, not administrative work.
- Each selected grant recipient will be assigned to ONE of the available courses. Applicants will have to identify only ONE course on the application form.
List of Eligible CountriesApplication is open to developing economies in ASEAN, according to the World Bank data. These countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and VietnamSponsorshipSelected candidate will be provided with monthly allowance, and accommodation. The international roundtrip airfare will only be available for the successful applicants from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. However, applicants from those countries who are able to obtain airfare from their own institutes or other funding agencies are strongly encouraged to indicate this fact on the application form. Available Courses
| Course No. | Project title | Course Content |
| Fundamental Course (3 months) | ||
| F-1* | Phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in the Hypocreales | Learn how to collect, isolate and identify fungi collected in the forest.Learn basic knowledge on the taxonomy of hypocrealean insect pathogens.Learn how to write descriptions of species and how to collect relevant data for taxonomic publications.Learn how to use the microtome and take photos of important taxonomic features. |
| F-2* | Marker assisted selection (MAS) for submergence tolerance and bacterial blight resistance in Laotian rice | DNA analysis.Evaluation for bacterial blight resistance. |
| F-3* | Validation of QTL for cooked elongation and development of DNA marker for selection | QTL validation.DNA marker analysis.DNA marker development. |
| F-4 | Basic training on the collection, isolation, and identification of insect-pathogenic fungi (IPF) | To learn how and where to collect IPF.To learn how to isolate and maintain pure cultures for further studies.To learn how to identify collected specimens based on morphological and molecular techniques. |
| F-5 | Basic research-based training on taxonomy and identification of marine fungi | To learn basic taxonomy and biology of marine fungi.To learn basic molecular techniques used for identification. |
| F-6 | Metagenomic analysis of microbial community in marine/thermal environments | To study the microbial community structure in marine/thermal environment from samples collected from Indonesia by next generation sequencing.To analyze the metagenome by shotgun sequencing.To analyze the sequencing dataset by bioinformatics tools to obtained genes of biotechnological interest. |
| Advanced Course (6 months) | ||
| A-1* | Roles of amino acids produced by mature/aged biofilms in shrimp pathogenic Vibrio bacteria biofilm formation inhibition and degradation | To identify the type of amino acids produced/released by mature Vibrio bacteria biofilms.To study the roles played by each amino acid identified in the biofilm formation inhibition or degradation. |
| A-2 | Dual defense functions of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus spp.) for disease resistance in shrimp | To test if Lactobacillus spp. expressing specific double-stranded RNA could provide protection to shrimp against viral and bacterial pathogens. |
| A-3 | Development of low-cost platform detection for point-of-care diagnostics | To develop a sensor system for point-of-care detection by integrating the sensor and portable devices. |
| A-4 | Development of enzymes for industrial application | To develop the recombinant expression system for enzyme production in bacterial or yeast systems.To characterize biochemical properties of the recombinant enzymes.To test the enzyme performance on industrial process. |
| A-5 | Extracellular matrix components/proteins of Vibrio bacteria biofilms and their roles in biofilm formation and pathogenesis in shrimp | To identify protein constitute extracellular matrices of Vibrio bacteria biofilms.To study the roles played by each protein in the biofilm by testing their inhibitors. |
| A-6 | Functional characterization combining molecular analysis to select lactic acid bacteria with probiotic properties for piglet feed | To select and identify the promising candidate probiotics based on prebiotic utilization, in vitro acid and bile tolerance, antimicrobial activity and binding related genes. |
| A-7 | Multiple bacterial infections in tilapia (Oreochromis spp.): identification and prevention | To identify causative agents of diseased fish (Oreochromis spp.).To investigate protection effect of inactivated vaccine against bacterial pathogens. |
*Courses no. F1, F2, F3 and A1 are open to candidates from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar only.Application ProcedureEach applicant should submit a completed application form along with an English university-transcript, full Curriculum Vitae, certificate of health and copy of passport (if any) in PDF format to papawee.nup@biotec.or.thby 20 June 2016. Successful candidates will be informed by July 2016. Download
For application submission and further inquiries, please contact:International Cooperation Sectionc/o Ms. Papawee NupasonNational Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC)113 Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Road, Khlong Nuang, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani 12120 ThailandTel: (66) 2 564 6700 ext.3323 Fax: (66) 2 564 6572E-mail: papawee.nup@biotec.or.th