Computational Drug-Discovery Scholar

No. A computational background is a plus, not a requirement — the call says so deliberately. What is not optional is dedication: you will be learning docking, databases and scripting on a real project with real deadlines, and that only works if you put the hours in.

Not to this round. An earlier version of this call was open to final-year BSc students; it is now for first-year MSc and PhD students at METU only. If you are finishing a BSc and heading for a master's here, say hello at zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr — there is other work in the lab, and there will be other calls.

No — first year, for both degrees. The scholarship runs for twelve months and the project outlives that, so the remaining time in your programme has to cover it comfortably rather than exactly.

The stated minimum for this call is a BSc CGPA of 3.00 / 4.00. If you believe your case is unusual, write to zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr before you apply rather than submitting and hoping.

No. The docking platform is the spine of the project and where you would start, but the scholarship sits inside the lab's whole computational effort: machine learning and deep learning on our own data, the image analysis behind our FRET work, and the tools, dashboards and web systems SONLab writes and maintains itself. The section above is not a tour of somebody else's work — it is the work.

Which parts you spend most time on depends on what the project needs and what you turn out to be good at.

Molecular biology and genetics, bioinformatics, chemistry and biochemistry, computer or data science — or a related field. The work is at the boundary of biology and computing, and people arrive at it from both sides. What matters is that you are in the first year of an MSc or PhD at METU.

The scholarship is open to METU students, and the e-mailed link is how the form checks that: only someone who can read a metu.edu.tr mailbox can open an application. Any METU address works, including sub-domains such as ceng.metu.edu.tr.

Check your spam folder first — automated mail from the lab server occasionally lands there. You can request a new link at any time; each request replaces the previous link, so always use the newest e-mail. If nothing arrives at all, write to zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr.

Yes. The form saves your progress on the server, both when you press Save progress and automatically while you type. Re-open your e-mailed link and everything is where you left it, on any device.

No — submission closes the form and is confirmed by e-mail. If you spot a genuine mistake afterwards, write to zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr and say what needs correcting.

Not at application time — you only give us their names and institutional e-mail addresses. We approach them ourselves. Two things matter: tell them in advance that you have named them, and pick people who will answer, because a reference that has not arrived within one week of our request ends the application.

50.000 TL / month. Anything else about the terms of payment: zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr.

Applications are reviewed after 30 Sep 2026, and references are requested from the referees you named. Any follow-up — questions, an invitation to talk to us, or the outcome — reaches you at the METU address you applied with, so keep an eye on it.

Erdoğmuş Parfüm Dış Ticaret ve Sanayi A.Ş., the industry partner funding this joint project with SONLab. The scholarship is a SONLab position: you work in the lab at METU, on the platform described above.

It is stored on the lab's own server and used to assess your application and nothing else. See our privacy page, or ask zubeyir.nursoy@metu.edu.tr to remove your application.