PhD opportunity at Dundee: Exploring the dark proteome with ORFeus

The application deadline for ORFeus PhD positions has been extended to 31 October 2026.

ORFeus (“Decoding the dark proteome through interdisciplinary training and research”) is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) coordinated by the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in the Netherlands.

Bringing together 14 leading research institutions and 10 industry partners across 12 countries, ORFeus is recruiting 15 PhD candidates. The programme aims to explore the dark proteome—a largely unexplored world of proteins arising from non-canonical translation events, many of which have only recently been discovered. These proteins can play important roles in cellular processes, including immune recognition and cancer, and may offer new opportunities for therapeutic development, particularly in immunotherapy.

The University of Dundee is delighted to be part of this ambitious international network and to host one of its PhD projects. Project 11 will investigate non-canonical translation events in HPV-driven cancer, under the supervision of Nicola Ternette in the Antigen Discovery Group.

Each position offers a full employment contract with salary and allowances set by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, including a living allowance, a mobility allowance and a family allowance where applicable.

How to apply

Applications are open until 31 October 2026, following an extension of the original deadline of 22 October. Applications must be submitted through the official ORFeus website.

Participating institutions

• Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology (NL, coordinator)
• Hubrecht Institute – KNAW (NL)
• Antoni van Leeuwenhoek / Netherlands Cancer Institute (NL)
• Ghent University (BE)
• University of Dundee (UK)
• The Institute of Cancer Research, London (UK)
• University of Leeds (UK)
•  University of Southampton (UK)
• University College Cork (IE)
• University of Oslo (NO)
• Hospital del Mar Research Institute (ES)
• University of Freiburg (DE)
• Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (DE)
• University of Lausanne (CH)

Companies and research partners

Enara Bio (UK), Oxford Nanopore Technologies (UK), EIRNA Bio (IE), Bruker (DE), myNEO (BE), Immudex (DK), Immagina Biotechnology (IT), Tesorai (US), EMBL-EBI (UK/DE). 

Oncode Institute (NL) provides training in intellectual property and entrepreneurship.

ORFeus is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, grant agreement no. 101309891. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor REA can be held responsible for them.