According to the IIMCB bylaws, the lab leader position constitutes an equivalent of a professorial position of other Polish research institutes. Each competition is advertised in Nature and/or Science and other highly internationally visible sources, including electronic media. The applicants are initially screened formally at the Institute, and later, get evaluated by the Selection Committee, made up of four members of the International Advisory Board (IAB) and two researchers from IIMCB. Short-listed candidates with the highest score receive invitations to participate in a symposium run publicly with the participation of IAB members. The final recommendation is made by IAB and passed to the Director, who is supposed to come with the binding decision based on this recommendation. This results in a job offer given to the winner(-s) of the competition.