OPEN POSITIONS
Open Postdoctoral Position
Lab’s interests
The research program of the laboratory is on the immuno-metabolic control of lung cancer development, with a focus on intercellular communication systems and tumor-associated neutrophils. Using a combination of in vitro cell cultures, genetically-engineered mouse models of human lung cancer, bioinformatics as well as patient-derived tumor tissue sections, we hope our research will contribute better, knowledge-based treatments of patients in a near future.
From September 1st, our group will relocate from EPFL (Switzerland) to ULB (Belgium). It will be strategically located on two sites, (1) the Institut Bordet (Erasme campus, Brussels) that offers immediate proximity to clinical oncologists and access to precious tumor samples, and (2) the Laboratory of Immunobiology (Gosselies campus) that comprises multiple immunology groups and state-of-the-art facilities, together providing excellent conditions for research on cancer immunobiology. The postdoc, although expected to be located mostly on the Gosselies site, will benefit from both locations for research and interactions.
Project
Building from our recent studies (CellRep 2017, NatCom 2020, CanRes 2021), in this research project we want to characterize functionally the cells of innate immunity, particularly neutrophils, in lung tumor progression. Genetics and pharmacological approaches will be used to understand their function and heterogeneity in disease progression and therapy response, using genetically-engineered mouse models of lung cancer. Mouse-to-human validations will be performed on human lung tumor tissues. The results of this project should enable a better understanding of tumor-associated neutrophils and their communication with tumor cells and with other immune cells of the tumor microenvironment, and may offer perspectives for new clinical development.
Qualifications
The applicant should have a strong knowledge and background in the field of cancer biology and/or immunology. Experience with mouse work would be a strong advantage. The applicant should have at least one first-author publication of primary research in an internationally-reputed, peer reviewed scientific journal.
Application
We will offer a full postdoc grant (2-years position already available, 1 year extension anticipated). Candidates should not have lived and/or worked in Belgium for more than 24 months during the past 3 years. Interested applicants should send a cover letter briefly describing their research experience and interests, and a personal CV that includes the name and contact information of three references, to Etienne Meylan.