Cells sense their environment, communicate with each other and coordinate their intracellular functions to support tissue physiology. In the epidermis, the cellular and molecular bases of Human skin color and protection against solar radiations relies on two epidermal cells, melanocytes and keratinocytes. Overall, the post-doctoral project aims at characterizing how intercellular communication instructs the intracellular response of cells and their actions in tissue. Specifically, the project will define the pigment fate in keratinocytes by investigating how cellular pathways (e.g. autophagy) and trafficking mechanisms impact on the observed structural differences between highly and lightly pigmented skins. These studies will reveal basic mechanisms of intercellular communication between skin cells and intracellular mechanisms underlying the physiology of human pigmentation and their associated disorders.
A postdoctoral position is opened in the team ‘Structure and Membrane Compartments’ headed by Graça Raposo within the Department of Cell Biology and Cancer (CNRS UMR144) of the Institut Curie in Paris (France). The position is funded for 2 years by the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) and is available from fall 2019. The candidate will be encouraged to apply for independent funding, to participate in international conferences and to be mentored to achieve career goals.
Founded in 1909, Institut Curie (http://www.curie.fr) is a cancer non-profit foundation bringing together a world-class multidisciplinary Research Center and a cutting-edge Hospital Group that provides care for all types of cancers, including the rarest forms. Based on a model developed by the Nobel Laureate Marie Sklodowska-Curie, Institut Curie’s missions are patient care, research and education to ultimately improve treatments and therapies for patients. Institut Curie provides an optimal international environment with several core facilities, scientific seminars, international courses and access to soft skill workshops.
The team is searching for an enthusiast and creative candidate excited in driving his/her research project. The candidate is expected to be independent, but to have a team player mentality. The candidate must have recently obtained a PhD in Cell Biology or related fields. The candidate should justify one first author publication or being in the process of having it. Prior knowledge on membrane trafficking, cell signaling and/ or microscopy is a plus. A good command of spoken and written English is required.
The candidate will exploit complementary cell and molecular biology methods on normal human epidermal cells and/ or tissues as well as microscopy approaches, like super-resolution fluorescence and live cell imaging and electron microscopies.
To apply, the candidate must contact Dr. Graça Raposo (graca.raposo@curie.fr) and Dr. Cédric Delevoye (cedric.delevoye@curie.fr) with a concise cover letter with statement of research interest and summary of previous research activity, a detailed CV and two reference letters.
Links to webpages: Graça Raposo and the team Structure and Membrane Compartments; Publication list: 2014-19
