Postdoctoral Fellow in Epigenetic Control of NK cells

Background and Research environment:

The Epigenetic Control of Lymphocyte Biology (EPICON) team led by Dr. Sebastian Scheer is part of the Immune Endocrine and Epigenetics (IEE) Research Group at LIH (led by Dr. Jonathan Turner) and focuses on identifying and understanding the mechanisms by which epigenetic modifiers affect NK cells, with the goal of improving cancer immunotherapy. NK cells, a subset of cells in the innate immune system, play a vital role in controlling transformed cells and tumour inflammation. Epigenetic modifiers are crucial regulators of both the innate and adaptive immune systems and are a promising target for cancer therapeutics. These enzymes regulate gene expression through their effects on chromatin, which helps to control cellular development and differentiation. While some studies have shown that inhibiting epigenetic modifiers can improve immune cell function, few have explored their impact on NK cells.

Objectives:

Our team makes use of preclinical models of cancer and inflammation, in-vivo CRISPR screens, molecular biology techniques, and bioinformatic analysis to identify previously unknown epigenetic modifiers that can be targeted to improve NK cell function. We use conditional knockout models to understand the molecular mechanisms of specific epigenetic modifiers and transcription factors identified by our team. As part of the FNR-funded EPICON project, the successful candidate will contribute to the identification of novel epigenetic targets for improving NK cell function. In addition, using in-vivo and ex-vivo animal models, the candidate will investigate the mechanisms of a specific epigenetic modifier that has shown promise as a potential means of improving cancer immunotherapy with NK cells.

Relevant publications:

Scheer et al., 2019. Nat Commun.

Scheer et al., 2020 Cell Rep.

Goh, Foroutan, Scheer et al., 2022 (preprint: doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2196744/v1)

Key Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• PhD in Immunology or molecular biology with strong interest in immunology and/or cancer immunotherapy.
• Experience in preclinical models (strong asset), immunology (experience with NK cells is a strong asset), immune cell phenotyping (multi-colour flow cytometry), molecular biology (previous experience with CRISPR, ATAC-seq, CUT&Tag, CUT&RUN, and/or RNA-seq is a huge asset), Bioinformatics (sequencing data analysis)
• Independent and self-motivated person, scientific creativity and originality, strong team spirit and collaborative capacity, excellent time management, rigour, perseverance, strong writing skills.
• Fluency in English is mandatory, either German or French as an additional language is an asset.

The successful candidate will join a highly dynamic research environment and get access to several core facilities and relevant state-of-the-art technologies. They will benefit from an active seminar program, international conference attendances and a proactive mentoring and career advancement program.

Scientific contact: Dr. Sebastian Scheer (PhD)

Luxembourg Institute of Health – Department of Infection and Immunity

29 rue Henri Koch, L-4354 Esch-sur-Alzette. LUXEMBOURG

Email: [email protected]