PhD offer at the Toulouse Institute of Pharmacology and Structure Biology

The Ph.D. student will be enrolled in the CARe program.

Deadline for application:  April 20th 2024

Starting date: September/October 2024

Working Place

The IPBS (Institute of Pharmacology and Structure Biology) is a joint research unit of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of Toulouse. IPBS is located in Toulouse, a vibrant city in the south of France. The IPBS provides an ambiance that fosters equality, diversity, and inclusivity, and hosts about 250 scientific and administrative staff, including Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows of multiple nationalities. IPBS comprises 18 research teams, and the work carried out at the institute is dedicated to the discovery of new therapeutic targets in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammatory diseases: https://www.ipbs.fr/. The selected Ph.D. candidate will submit his/her application to the CARe Ph.D. 2024 open call with the research team “Epigenetic Mechanisms in Cancer,” led by Priyanka Sharma at the IPBS, Toulouse. The candidate will be getting the promising opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary project on cancer and transcription biology in cancer using the advantage of genomics and biophysics techniques. 

Technical methods

  • Single-cell RNA transcriptomics.
  • Live cell imaging and machine learning tools for analysis.
  • Biophysical characterization of transcriptional condensates.
  • Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays.

Expected Profile

Highly motivated and dynamic Ph.D. candidate with great communication skills and a strong interest in unraveling epigenetic mechanisms using multidisciplinary approaches.

Interested candidates, please contact at priyanka.sharma@ipbs.fr for further information. 

Detailed subject pre-proposal

Launch of CARe’s 2024 call for proposals 2nd phase

The pre-selected projects in the framework of CARe’s 2024 call for PhD proposals are available on this link.

PhD candidates for the pre-selected projects will submit the full proposal to Claire Mendoza (claire.mendoza-berrio@univ-tlse3.fr) and Clemence Grosnit (clemence.grosnit@univ-tlse3.fr) using this template.

At this step, PhD candidates must be identified and are asked to send a complete CV. In addition, it is mandatory to provide a full description of the 3-6 months internship, including a signed attestation from the hosting foreign university or from industry.

The files must be submitted as a single PDF before May 10th, 2024. Applicants will defend their proposal on June 4th, 2024, in front of a jury representative of the CARe Graduate School, with delegates from Toulouse partner doctoral schools.

The audition will consist of 12 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of questions. The presentation and the answers to questions have to be done in English.

The presentation must include, in this order, 1 title slide, 1 slide presenting the candidate, one slide presenting a previous research experience. The rest of the slides are dedicated to the presentation of the project (scientific justification of the research project, strategy, methodology, feasibility and risk management), including a description of the internship abroad or in industry. The following criteria will be evaluated by the jury: discussion of a previous research experience, quality of the oral presentation and of the response to questions.

Several detailed PhD subject pre-proposals and offers are published below. 

I2MC LiMitAging, Toulouse - University of Nantes.pdf
CRCT Melasphinx, Toulouse - Stony Brook University NYC
Toulouse NeuroImaging Center - Softmat, Toulouse
Laboratory of Synthesis and Physico-Chemistry of Molecules of Biological Interest, Toulouse - UCSI University Kuala Lumpur
Center for Integrative Biology, Toulouse - Orebro University, Sweden
IPBS - Team Epigenetic Mechanisms in Cancer, Toulouse
IPBS - Team Epigenetic Mechanisms in Cancer, Toulouse - PhD offer

Our 2024 call for PhD proposals is open

2024 Call for PhD proposals

 

The CARe Graduate School’s PhD program is devoted to the training of students in multidisciplinary research topics, from basic science to clinical or pharmacological applications, with a focus on cancer, ageing and/or rejuvenation. PhD research projects are directed by CARe-associated research teams from academic laboratories or partner companies. The EUR CARe PhD program selection will have two phases:

Phase 1: PhD pre-proposals will be submitted to Claire Mendoza (claire.mendoza-berrio@univ-tlse3.fr) and Clemence Grosnit (clemence.grosnit@univ-tlse3.fr) using this template, before evaluation and selection by the CARe Scientific Committee. Deadline for application is March 1st, 2024.

The applications must fall in the field of cancer, aging and/or rejuvenation. In addition, multidisciplinary is highly recommended and proposals must be at the interface of biology and mathematics, computer science, chemistry or physics. Examples are: mathematicians addressing complex biological questions by developing new molecules, tools, technologies or models, possibly doing some bench work, or biologists trained in mathematics, physics, computer sciences, advanced bioinformatics to develop new strategies that would be later questioned/validated in experimental biological settings…

Partnerships between teams from different doctoral schools, and/or foreign universities or industry are strongly encouraged (see scoring below). A short internship abroad (3 to 6-month) is mandatory, the nature of which should be briefly mentioned at this step. The travel and accommodation will be funded by the CARe program.

The scoring system (out of 10) is the following: 

  • Scientific quality of the proposal (5 points)
  • Co-supervision & interdisciplinarity (options 1 to 3 are not cumulative)
    1. If the project involves co-supervision by two teams working on different themes, each affiliated to a distinct disciplinary doctoral school : 2 points (lowest score)
    2. Or if the project includes co-supervision with an industry partner or a foreign university : 3 points (middle score)
    3. Or if the project involves co-supervision with an industry partner or a foreign university, spanning two interdisciplinary fields : 5 points (highest score).

NB: the candidates should not be formally identified at this step.

Upon acceptance, the proposers will be informed on March 11th, 2024, and the proposals will be posted online on CARe’s website and social networks.

Phase 2: PhD candidates for the pre-selected projects will submit the full proposal to Claire Mendoza (claire.mendoza-berrio@univ-tlse3.fr) and Clemence Grosnit (clemence.grosnit@univ-tlse3.fr) using the template that will be made available on CARe’s website.

At this step, PhD candidate must be identified and are asked to send a complete CV. In addition, it is mandatory to provide a full description of the 3-6 months internship, including a signed attestation from the hosting foreign university or from industry.

The files must be submitted as a single PDF before May 10th, 2024. Applicants will defend their proposal in early June 2024, in front of a jury representative of the CARe Graduate School, with delegates from Toulouse partner doctoral schools.

The audition will consist of 12 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of questions. The presentation and the answers to questions have to be done in English.

The presentation must include, in this order, 1 title slide, 1 slide presenting the candidate, one slide presenting a previous research experience. The rest of the slides are dedicated to the presentation of the project (scientific justification of the research project, strategy, methodology, feasibility and risk management), including a description of the internship abroad or in industry. The following criteria will be evaluated by the jury: discussion of a previous research experience, quality of the oral presentation and of the response to questions.

Congratulations to Julien Novarino, new CARe PhD graduate!

On April 27th, 2023, Julien Novarino defended his thesis on “Follicular helper T cells and regulatory T cells, a surprising partnership in the humoral response”, under the direction of Dr. Meryem Aloulou and Dr. Nicolas Fazilleau, from the Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases (Infinity).

We warmly congratulate him and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

PhD offer at the Toulouse Institute of Pharmacology and Structure Biology

The Ph.D. student will be enrolled in the CARe program.

Deadline for application: April 25th 2023

Starting date: September/October 2023

Working Place

The IPBS (Institute of Pharmacology and Structure Biology) is a joint research unit of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of Toulouse. IPBS is located in Toulouse, a vibrant city in the south of France. The IPBS hosts about 250 scientific and administrative staff, including Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows of multiple nationalities. IPBS comprises 18 research teams, and the work carried out at the institute is dedicated to the discovery of new therapeutic targets in the fields of cancer, infectious diseases, and inflammatory diseases (https://www.ipbs.fr/). The selected Ph.D. candidate will work in the research team “Epigenetic Mechanisms in Cancer,” led by Priyanka Sharma at the IPBS, Toulouse. The candidate will be supported by a short training in the laboratory of molecular biophysics directed by X. Salvatella at the Biomedical Research Institute (IRB), Barcelona, Spain.

Technical methods

  • Single-cell RNA transcriptomics.
  • Live cell imaging and machine learning tools for analysis.
  • Biophysical characterization of transcriptional condensates.
  • Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays.

Expected Profile

Highly motivated and dynamic Ph.D. candidate with great communication skills and a strong interest in unraveling epigenetic mechanisms using multidisciplinary approaches.

Interested candidates, please contact at priyanka.sharma@ipbs.fr for further information.

Open position for a PhD in organic chemistry toward in vivo imaging

The Fundamental and Applied Heterochemistry Laboratory (LHFA), Toulouse, France and the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, are currently looking for candidates to enter a 3-year PhD program within the CARe Graduate School.

The successful candidate will be hired in a multicenter research program between Toulouse and Copenhagen bringing together chemists, radiochemists and biologists. The transdisciplinary research project targets the development and application of innovative chemical and biochemical tools for in vivo imaging of metabolic activity in the context of age-related diseases. The key idea is to combine easy-to-handle fluorescent or radioactive probes with biological vectors in a highly modular fashion. It will consist in the organic synthesis of both targeting and recognition units, as well as their bioconjugation in vitro or in vivo for further biological investigations.

The expected background of the successful candidate will be rooted in organic synthesis (connection to biological investigations would also be welcome). A sound knowledge of main group chemistry would also be beneficial. A strong ability to adapt to different research fields will also be of paramount importance. Although mainly based in Toulouse (France), the PhD training will partly take place in Copenhagen (at least 3 to 6 months).

Applications of students from all origins and of all genders nearly completing their master degree are strongly encouraged.

Deadline for submission: 28th of April, 2023.

Further information can be requested from: emmanuel.gras@univ-tlse3.fr

A PhD position is open at Infinity to work on T-Follicular Regulatory cell heterogeneity in defective Ageing humoral response

The PhD student will be enrolled in the CARe program.

Deadline for application:  April 15th 2023

Starting date: September/October 2023

Working context:

Infinity (Toulouse Institute for Infectious and Inflammatory Disease) is joint research unit of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the University of Toulouse. Infinity is a dynamic research institute comprised of 14 teams about 300 people and is located in Toulouse, a lively and fast-growing city in the Southwest of France with the 2nd largest student population. Within Infinity, the PhD candidate will work in the research team “Antigen Presenting Cells in T cell responses” led by Nicolas Fazilleau. This project is in close collaboration with ImmunXperts, a Q² Solutions company, localized at Gosselies (Belgium). During the PhD program, an internship of several months will be performed in this biotech company.

Working project:

The PhD candidate will study the development and biological roles of the human Tfr pool during physiological and ageing humoral responses.

Germinal centers (GCs) are the lifeblood of protective humoral immunity, require complex regulation that can decline with time, increasing vulnerability to infectious diseases and limiting vaccination benefits of elderly population. The integrity of GCs relied upon T follicular regulatory cells (Tfr), a regulatory subset that ensure antibody affinity for pathogens while decreasing self-recognition. Despite displaying a dual function in GCs reaction, Tfr cells were originally described as affiliated exclusively to Tregs (“natural” Tfr cells, nTfr), a population expressing autoreactive T-cell receptors (TCRs). More recently, we challenged this dogma by the description, in human tonsils, of a Tfr subset, descending from Tfh cells (“induced” Tfr cells, iTfr). However, the biologic role of a heterogenic Tfr pool in human and its impact on ageing immune responses are currently unknown.

The long-term goal of the proposed PhD program is to determine the biological role of the Tfr pool heterogeneity during GC response in humans and how ageing impacts this balance contributing thus to immune dysfunction. Our working hypothesis is that two distinct pathways shape the human Tfr pool, and immunopathology could result when one developmental pathway takes the lead. Our final ambition is to develop strategies to influence the Tfr pool composition that will improve the vaccine response of the elderly population.

Technical approaches:

– Single cell RNA sequencing on human T follicular populations

– Multiplex microscopy of human tissues

– Development of human lymphoid organoïds and in vitro functional assays

– Recruitment and immunophenotype by multiparametric flow cytometry of an “ageing” cohort

Expected profile:

We are looking for a highly motivated and dynamic PhD candidate with strong interest in immunology and excellent communication skills. Previous experienced with data analysis in R would be appreciated.

Interested, want to know more, how to apply

Contact us @ carole.le-coz@inserm.fr

Congratulations to the two first CARe students to defend their thesis!

Emmanuel Gonzalez Bautista and Lea Da Costa Fernandes were the first two PhD students of the CARe Graduate School to defend their thesis.

Emmanuel’s thesis defense took place on December 5th, 2022, on the subject “Screening for abnormalities of intrinsic abilities with advancing age within the framework of the WHO ICOPE program: example of the locomotion approach”, under the supervision of Pr. Sandrine Andrieu and Philipe de Souto Barreto, from the Centre for Epidemiology and Research in Population Health – CERPOP.

Lea defended her thesis on March 21st, 2023, on “Modeling the inflammatory response dynamics following tissue damage in adult mammals”, under the supervision of Pr. Beatrice Cousin of the Restore Institute, and the co-supervision of François Peres, from the National School of Engineering in Tarbes – ENIT.

We congratulate them on this achievement and wish them every success in their future career.

Launch of CARe’s 2023 call for PhD proposals 2nd phase

The pre-selected projects in the framework of CARe’s 2023 call for PhD proposals are available here.

PhD candidates for the pre-selected projects will submit the full proposal to Claire Mendoza (claire.mendoza-berrio@univ-tlse3.fr) and Clemence Grosnit (clemence.grosnit@univ-tlse3.fr) using this template. PhD candidates must be identified and are asked to send a complete CV including references.

At this step, PhD candidates must be identified and are asked to send a complete CV. Special attention will be given to candidates coming from foreign universities or countries. In addition, it is mandatory to provide a full description of the 3-6 months internship, including a signed attestation from the hosting foreign university or from industry.

The files must be submitted as a single PDF before May 12th, 2023. Applicants will defend their proposal in early June 2023, in front of a jury representative of the CARe Graduate school, with delegates from Toulouse partner doctoral schools. The audition will consist of 12 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes of questions. The presentation and the answers to questions will be done in English.

The presentation must include, in this order, 1 title slide, 1 slide presenting the candidate. The rest of the slides are dedicated to the presentation of the project (scientific justification of the research project, strategy, methodology, feasibility and risk management), including a description of the internship abroad or in industry. The following criteria will be evaluated by the jury: discussion of a previous research experience, quality of the oral presentation and of the response to questions.