Mentoring and Career Track Scheme

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Post-doctoral positions are meant for training researchers at the beginning of their professional life with the expectation that they will be able to take the next step in their career. IMBB, in line with international and EU-Life practices, has adopted specific actions to support postdocs during their time in IMBB and towards their future career development whether that will be in academia or beyond. The IMBB mentoring and career track scheme (MCTS) is designed to provide all post docs and junior PIs with:

(1) effective mentoring by a senior current or past (alumni) IMBB member;

(2) training opportunities to develop, in addition to research skills, broad competences that will help them in their future career;

(3) attending lectures from invited speakers on alternative career-paths within biological sciences;

(4) a track scheme to follow whether set-goals are achieved and how career-development is progressing;

(5) an extended list of mentors, in addition to IMBB PIs, including the IMBB alumni members

EU-LIFE Connects Science
25–29 May 2026

We are pleased to announce that IMBB participates with two researchers in the EU-LIFE Connects Science programme, a new initiative designed to strengthen scientific exchange across the EU-LIFE community.

Researchers at all career stages and technical staff members from EU-LIFE Institutes will have the opportunity to spend one week at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam during the EU-LIFE Community Meeting (25–29 May 2026).

The EU-LIFE Connects Science programme enables research-related goals that would not be possible without this short, targeted stay. Selected participants will pursue focused scientific activities tailored to their interests and needs. These may include learning a new technique, carrying out a specific experiment or analysis, exploring a new research field, initiating a collaboration, engaging with a research facility, or exploring potential next career steps.

Accommodation in Amsterdam from Monday 25 through Friday 29 May will be provided by the NKI, together with access to NKI research facilities and technology platforms, as well as support for experimental costs. Travel costs will be covered by the participating institutes.

Among six applications submitted by IMBB-FORTH members, PhD candidates Mr. Vaios Theodosiou from Matthieu Lavigne’s group and Mr. Christos Katsioulas from Evgenia Ntini’s group were selected by a three-member committee (John Vontas, Maria Monastirioti and Tassos Pavlopoulos) to take part in this unique opportunity to connect science across the EU-LIFE network.

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Happy Hour Social Events

Starting in April 2026, the IMBB Mentoring Committee is excited to launch Happy Hour social events following the IMBB Colloquia, organized by IMBB PhD students and Postdocs!

Each Happy Hour will take place on the last Friday of every month, right after the IMBB Colloquium seminar.

You are warmly invited to join these informal gatherings to connect and continue both scientific and non-scientific discussions while enjoying pizza and drinks.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The whole process will be overseen by the MCTS Committee which will act as a contact point between post-docs and mentors. The MCTS committee consists of two IMBB group leaders (Anastasios Pavlopoulos, Emmanouil Froudarakis), two post doc representatives (Eva Zacharioudaki, Maria Diamantaki) and two PhD representatives (Maria Kalogeridi, Christos Katsioulas) .

For contacting the MCTS Committee at IMBB send an e-mail to mentoring@imbb.forth.gr. Alternatively you can contact any of the members directly using the contact details below or the secretary (Rodanthi Lasitiotaki).