Competition procedure

For the doctoral competition, Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University (UCBL1), through the CanBioS Doctoral School, offers several doctoral contracts awarded through a competitive selection process. These fundings may come from two distinct schemes:

• UCBL Competition, conducted exclusively via the ADUM platform, including:
• UCBL doctoral fellowships,
  • Funding from donations and bequests of the Léon Bérard Center;
  • Competition funded by the Foundation for Medical Research (FRM), which follows a specific procedure organized by the Doctoral School, in parallel with the UCBL competition.

Submission of thesis projects by supervisors

• Supervisors wishing to propose a thesis topic must submit their project exclusively on the ADUM platform: from February 2 to March 23, 2026 (11:58 p.m. ADUM time). The procedures for submitting thesis projects are specified on the ED CanBioS website.
• Supervisors wishing to supervise or co-supervise a thesis without holding an HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, or accreditation to supervise research) are invited to refer to the rules in force at the University and the ED.

Consulting topics

• open applications
• or targeted applications (reserved for an identified candidate).

Application file 

• Application form
• Evaluation Criteria for Applications

For the attention of supervisors and PhD students:

• The ‘Application assessment criteria’ file must be pre-filled by the supervisor, with the exception of the section in purple.
• Once pre-filled, this file will be sent to the two external assessors for their feedback.
• Pre-filling helps to avoid errors and simplifies the work of the assessors.
• Please upload both files (Application form + Application assessment criteria) to ADUM when submitting your application.

Starting at the end of May 2026, applications will be reviewed according to the following procedure:

• Applications sent to reviewers: May 13, 2026
• Review reports returned: May 28, 2026
• Summaries sent to Council members: June 4, 2026
• Pre-selection Council meeting (½ day): June 9, 2026
• Invitation to oral interviews for selected applications: June 10, 2026

Evaluation of applications
Each application is evaluated by an eligibility committee composed of two experts from outside the laboratories affiliated with the CanBioS doctoral school.

• The candidate's academic record (grades, rankings, internships, skills, commitments)
• The doctoral research project
• The scientific quality and environment of the host team
• A list of experts, representative of the ED's disciplines and validated by the ED Council, is drawn up after checking for any conflicts of interest.

Competition and interviews
Date: July 3, 2026 (in person, location specified in the invitation). After reviewing the applications (eligibility phase), the competition jury draws up a list of candidates to be interviewed, with a maximum of one candidate per HDR supervisor.

Audition procedure

Total duration: 20 minutes, including a 10-minute oral presentation and 10 minutes of questions from the jury.

The presentation will cover:

• The candidate's academic background and curriculum vitae
• The proposed thesis topic
• The motivation for the doctoral project
• The presentation will be given using PPT-type software, in the language chosen by the candidate (French or English).

⚠️ As the jury members have varied thematic expertise, the presentation must be understandable to the entire jury. Answers to questions must be short and precise.

Presentation format

• Format: PDF only
• File name (without accents): LastName_FirstName_Presentation_ConcoursCanBioS_2026.pdf
• Maximum size: 5 MB
• Recommended delivery via download link (FileSender, WeTransfer, etc.)
• The file (or link) must be sent to the following address: EDCanBioS@lyon.unicancer.fr.

⚠️ No files may be modified after submission, including on the day of the audition.

• Publication of final results: week of July 6, 2026
• The applications selected by the CanBioS Doctoral School will be forwarded to the funding bodies, which remain solely responsible for the final allocation of funding.
• Candidates who have not obtained funding will be encouraged to submit applications to other organizations (regions, charities, industrial partners, etc.), with the support of their potential supervisor.
• Candidates on the main list must confirm their acceptance or refusal of the thesis grant by replying to the email at:EDCanBioS@lyon.unicancer.fr.

Funding by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) is subject to a separate procedure, organized outside ADUM.

The terms and conditions and schedule are communicated directly by the Doctoral School to the candidates concerned.

Candidates should send their applications directly to EDCanBioS@lyon.unicancer.fr., where they will be evaluated and selected by the CanBioS Council.

The CanBioS Doctoral School can only submit one application to the FRM, as voted on by the Council.

The FRM's final decision is usually made in June.

Given the highly selective nature of the program, candidates are strongly encouraged to also apply to the UCBL competition in order to maximize their chances of obtaining doctoral funding.

Due to the short time between the end of exams for certain programs and the eligibility panel, as well as between the eligibility and admission panels, communication regarding the doctoral contract procedure will be conducted exclusively electronically via ADUM.