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 2017. 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 12 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 degreein sciences for application toafundamental 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) Fundamental course: October 2 – December 29, 2017 4.2) Advanced course: October 2, 2017 – March 30, 2018
- Must not be older than 32 years of age as of October 1, 2017.
- 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 Vietnam SponsorshipSelected 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 | Enhancement of antioxidants and secondary metabolite production of crops and vegetables by controlled and stressed environments. | Crops and vegetables under controlled environmentsTraining on determination of plant physiological and biochemical parameters (emphasis on photosynthetic parameters), and starch and sugar analysisAntioxidant and secondary metabolite analysisExperimental design and statistical analysis |
| F–3 | Investigation of antimalarial drug resistance mechanism in Plasmodium parasites. | Plasmodium parasite biologyTechniques in molecular biologyGene expression analysisSequencing of drug resistance genes |
| F–4 | Development of bioinsecticide formulations from Bacillus thuringiensis. | Produce Vip3A & crystal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis.Harvest and concentrate protein product.Prepare liquid and dry bioinsecticide formulations.Bioassay against insect larvae |
| F–5 | Development of nanosensor array for diabetes biomarker detection and analyzer. | Gas nanosensorAptasensorBreath biomarkersScreen printed electrodeFoodborne pathogen detection |
| Advanced Course (6 months) | ||
| A-1* | Identification and characterization of biofilm formation inhibitors in plant and/or microbe extracts. | Shrimp pathogenic bacterial biofilm culturingExtraction and separation of compounds from plants/microbeBiofilm formation and bioluminescent inhibition testingShrimp challenge test |
| A–2* | Synthesis and route optimization of 2, 4 diaminopyrimidine as a scaffold of antimalarial drug. | Organic chemistry synthetic design and route optimizationHeterocyclic chemistrySpectroscopy techniques for structure determination (NMR, MS) |
| A-3* | Development of high-throughput genotyping platforms for rice breeding programs. | Use bioinformatics approach to identify candidate SNP locations.Develop SNP markers using KASP and/or Taqman probe technologies.Validate and applied markers for genotyping improved varieties and diverse rice germplasms.Marker haplotype-trait association analysis |
| A–4 | Programmable bio-nano-chip for point-of-care diagnostics. | BiosensorsPaper-based microfluidicsMolecular diagnosticsFabricationNanotechnology |
| A–5 | Identification and characterization of red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) pathogens. | Transcriptomic analysis of red claw crayfishNucleic acid extraction and amplificationRed claw/shrimp Histology, in situ hybridization |
| A–6 | Biotyping of yeasts and characterization of yeast strains producing fatty acids using MALDI-TOF. | Lipid, fatty acid, and protein extraction from various yeast strainsAnalysis of lipids and fatty acidsBiotyping (lipid profiling and protein profiling) of various yeast strains |
| A–7 | Microorganisms as alternative malaria transmission control tools. | Mosquito biology and molecular biologyMicrobiology and aseptic techniquesConcepts on malaria transmission controlIdentification of mosquitocidal and larvicidal compounds from microorganismsGene expression analysis |
*Courses no. F-1, A-1, A-2 and A-3 are open to candidates from Cambodia, Lao PDR and 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 international@biotec.or.thby 19 June 2017. Successful candidates will be informed by July 2017. Download Application
For 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 6572
E-mail: international@biotec.or.th