PhD Fellowship in Diabetes Research at UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium

1 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

UCLouvain

Department

IREC Institute

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology
Biological sciences » Laboratory animal science
Biological sciences » Nutritional sciences
Biological sciences » Other
Medical sciences » Other

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

15 Mar 2024 - 12:00 (Europe/Brussels)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38

Offer Starting Date

1 Feb 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

One PhD position is available at UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium. We are looking for a highly motivated researcher to join the lab of Dr. Patrick Gilon.

Fellowship: A PhD fellowship is available to conduct a research project in the laboratory of endocrinology, diabetes and nutrition. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

Project: Study of the cross-talk between pancreatic islet cells using live-cell imaging, functional in vivo and in vitro tests, and omics approaches: implications for diabetes.

The endocrine pancreas plays a key role in glucose homeostasis. It is organized in islets mainly composed of beta, alpha- and delta-cells, secreting, respectively, insulin, glucagon and somatostatin. Insulin is the major hypoglycemic hormone whereas glucagon is hyperglycemic. Somatostatin potently inhibits the secretion of both insulin and glucagon. Diabetes is characterized by an impaired glucose homeostasis and results from a deficit in insulin which is absolute in type 1 diabetes (due to beta-cell destruction) or relative in type 2 diabetes (as a result of decreased beta-cell mass and insulin resistance). Diabetes is also characterized by a defective glucagon secretion (hypersecretion and altered response to hypoglycemia) of unknown origin. All cell types of the islets influence each other, but the nature of these heterologous interactions is still poorly understood. The objectives of the project are to study the cross-talk between pancreatic islet cells, using various approaches, from the gene to the cell and to the whole organism in healthy states and in diabetes. One goal will be to identify new therapeutic targets to help to normalize glucose homeostasis in diabetes. Studies will be performed on both human and mouse tissue.

Some techniques used in the lab : Cell culture, Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), gene expression analysis, secretion assays, live cell imaging, conventional and confocal fluorescence microscopy, patch-clamp, cloning and adenovirus construction, transgenic mouse models, ...

Publications of the team : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=gilon+P&sort=pubdate

Environment: Our research group is part of the Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, a multi-disciplinary and international biomedical research institute of the UCLouvain in Brussels. Our lab is composed of ~15 researchers including PhD students and post-docs from various nationalities. The lab is located in a pleasant area in Brussels.

Procedure: The applicant should send, in a single PDF file , to the email address below (i) a motivation letter , (ii) a detailed curriculum vitae mentioning, if applicable, the list of articles with the names of authors as published (separating the lists of original articles, reviews and abstracts) + the impact factor of the Journals, a phone number, an e.mail address , the birthdate, photo, copies of relevant university degrees + certificate of experimentation on laboratory animals, and (iii) names, addresses, e.mail addresses and phone numbers of at least 2 (ideally 3) persons of reference .

To Dr. P. Gilon: [email protected]

Requirements

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Biological sciences » Laboratory animal science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Biological sciences » Nutritional sciences

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Biological sciences » Other

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Pharmacological sciences » Other

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The applicant should have a strong CV, holder of a Master degree in biology, pharmacy, agronomy, bioengineering, biomedical sciences, medicine, … or equivalent. He/she should have a strong knowledge in biology, cellular physiology and gene expression. A certificate of experimentation on laboratory animals is required (at least equivalent to Felasa B). If not available, the candidate will be required to attend training as soon as possible in Belgium to obtain the Felasa B. Experience in bioinformatics is a plus. The ability to write and speak in English is mandatory. Good communication skills and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team are required.

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

UCLouvain/IREC

Country

Belgium

State/Province

Brussels

City

Brussels

Postal Code

1200

Street

Avenue Hippocrate 55

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

State/Province

Brussels

City

Brussels

Website

https://uclouvain.be/en/research-institutes/irec

Street

Av Hippocrate 55

Postal Code

1200

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED