Doctoral Researcher positions, Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine

We are inviting applications for a total of 21 Doctoral Researchers to the doctoral programmes of the Faculty of Health Sciences. The positions will be hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences on the Kuopio campus and will start on 1 January 2026 (or by the end of 2026 as agreed). Please find more information below, and submit your application by 29 August 2025.

Role and salary 

Through this call for applications, you can apply for a Doctoral Reseacher position in the Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine (DPMM), (webpage), which is an interdisciplinary doctoral training program with the purpose of training researchers as international experts in modern biomedicine. Molecular medicine studies the causes and mechanisms of origin of diseases on a molecular level and strives to find methods to treat and prevent these diseases. The research areas in DPMM are cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, type 2 diabetes and obesity, stem cell research, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.

The duties of a Doctoral Researcher include conducting research related to their doctoral dissertation in accordance with their approved research proposal. The aim is to complete the doctoral degree in maximum of four years of full-time study, regardless of the funding source.

Doctoral Researcher positions are filled for a maximum of three years starting from 1 January 2026 (or by the end of 2026 as agreed). In determining eligibility and duration of the position, the date of the study right for doctoral studies and previous Doctoral Researcher or equivalent positions will be considered regardless of the funding source. Individual months as a Doctoral Researcher may also be applied for. A trial period is applied to new holders of a position.

The position of a Doctoral Researcher may be applied for either on a full-time or a part-time basis. Parttime Doctoral Researcher positions must be co-financed with some other funder (for example, an external grant administered outside the university that can be combined with the employment contract or a part-time employment contract with another organisation), so that the total amount of funding enables the candidate to work full-time on their doctoral dissertation.

The salary of the post is based on the salary system for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. The salary consists of a job-related salary element and a personal salary element. In this position, the job-related salary element is based on level 2–4 (EUR 2,281.48- 2,844.66/month) of the job requirement level chart, depending on the stage of the applicant's doctoral research and postgraduate studies. In addition, a personal salary element is paid, which is 6-50% of the job-related salary element. 

We expect you to

• to be qualified to pursue postgraduate studies; you hold a relevant Master’s degree awarded by a university or by a university of applied sciences, or a relevant applicable study programme abroad which in the awarding country gives eligibility for the corresponding level of higher education,
• meet the student admission criteria for the doctoral programme (Doctoral Programme in Molecular Medicine, webpage),
• be planning or doing your first doctoral degree,
• be a postgraduate student registered with the University of Eastern Finland or plan to complete your doctoral dissertation at the University of Eastern Finland. Students in the final stages of their Master’s degree may also apply provided that they complete their degree by 16 September 2025 and deliver a copy of their degree certificate to the faculty by 30 September 2025.
• have conducted your doctoral research on a full-time basis for less than four years by 31 December 2025, calculated from the date your study right for doctoral studies was granted,
• have sufficient English language skills for the task.

We offer you 

• an interesting position in an international, creative, participatory and inclusive university community,
• the staff benefits of the University of Eastern Finland, including comprehensive occupational health care, extensive provision of staff training, affordable lunch in our campus restaurants, and Sykettä sports services, a tax-free bike benefit.

How to apply

Submit your application by using our electronic application form no later than 29 August 2025 by 24:00 (midnight) Finnish time (UTC+3). Only applications that contain all appendices specified in the call will be evaluated and taken into account in the selection. The Doctoral Researcher position must be applied for in the doctoral programme to which you have applied/will apply for a postgraduate study right at the University of Eastern Finland.

Please note that the applications must contain the following appendices in English (in pdf-format): 

• A curriculum vitae (Template for CV, webpage). 
• A publication list specifying the publications to be included in your doctoral dissertation, if not included in the curriculum vitae (Instructions for a list of publications, webpage).
• A research proposal (cover + max 4 pages) including a research funding plan describing the resources required and existing for the research as well as a brief description of the relevance/impact of the research. Persons who are already registered as postgraduate students must submit an updated research proposal, including a report on the progress of their doctoral research and the intended schedule for the completion of the doctoral research and the initiation of the pre-examination process. (Instructions for a research plan, pdf).
• A motivational letter (1 page), in which the applicant describes their motivation to pursue postgraduate studies and to conduct research.
• A copy of the degree certificate and a transcript of academic records that prove the applicant’s eligibility for postgraduate studies if the person does not have an existing right to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Eastern Finland. If your diploma is not in English, Finnish or Swedish, an official English translation must be provided by the awarding educational institution or an authorised translator. 

Applications will be evaluated based on uniform criteria, utilising external experts.

The criteria: the quality, clarity, and innovativeness of the research proposal, the feasibility of the research proposal as a doctoral dissertation, the applicant’s evidence of previous research projects and the applicant’s motivation based on the motivation letter.

The evaluation may include an interview. The objective is for the faculty to decide on the candidates to be appointed to the positions by mid-November.

Questions? 

You may send you questions to healthpostgrad@uef.fi