PhD in immunology/gene therapy: "Innovative solutions for gene editing in gene therapy targeting hematopoietic stem cells"

28 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Department

Institute for Medical Immunology (IMI)

Research Field

Medical sciences » Medicine

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

18 May 2024 - 00:00 (Europe/Brussels)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

38

Offer Starting Date

1 Jul 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

This PhD offer is part of the GT4Health project, funded by the Walloon Region as part of its Win4Excellence program. It aims to develop various disruptive technologies as solutions to major challenges in the gene therapy sector. This multidisciplinary project involves ten partners from five French-speaking Belgian universities (ULiège, ULB, UCL, UNamur and UMons), as well as the CER Groupe research centre. In this project, viral and non-viral vectors will be used to develop innovative personalised therapeutic solutions, enabling researchers to tackle serious hereditary and chronic diseases and cancers by validating a variety of therapeutic targets.

Specifically, the project will aim to develop innovative genome-editing solutions for gene therapy on autologous hematopoietic stem cells

Gene therapy using autologous hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) represents a major advance in the treatment of monogenic primary immunodeficiencies or hemoglobinopathies. The aim of this project is to develop a "toolbox" combining several innovative modalities to optimize genome editing in human HSCs that will be evaluated in vitro and in vivo (humanized mice models). This project will be a collaborative effort between the Institute of Medical immunology - ULB Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI ) located in the BIOPARK campus (Gosselies) and the Cell Biology Laboratory (UMONS). We offer a 4-yr PhD fellowship. For more information and application, please contact Stanislas GORIELY ([email protected] ) or Lionel TAFFOREAU ([email protected] ). Please send your CV (including 2 external references) and motivation letter/personal statement. 

 
 
 
 
 
Requirements

Research Field

Medical sciences » Health sciences

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

- Good knowledge of English

- Previous experience in molecular biology (gene editing, cloning) and cell culture

- Previous experience in small animal handling

 

 
 
 
 
 
Specific Requirements

Previous work with primary cells, viral vectors and CRISPR/cas9 approaches is an asset

 
 
 
 
 

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Research Field

Medical sciences » Health sciences

Years of Research Experience

None

Additional Information
Benefits

Work contract for up to 4 years 

Join a dynamic team of PhD students, post-docs, technicians and permanent staff and be part of a global project involving several universities

Access to cutting-edge technical platforms

Access to a doctoral training program

 

 
 
 
 
 
Eligibility criteria

Hold a Master degree

Knowledge in molecular biology

 
 
 
 
 
Selection process

After passing the eligibility check, the applications will be evaluated by the two project promoters in order to prepare a shortlist of candidates. This assessment will be based on motivation, the match between the scientific/technical background and the requirements of the PhD project. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed by Teams or by phone and will be invited to visit the laboratory. 

 
 
 
 
 
Additional comments

 

 
 
 
 
 
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Université Libre de Bruxelles

Country

Belgium

City

Gosselies

Postal Code

6041

Street

8 Rue Adrienne Bolland

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Gosselies

Website

https://u-cri.ulb.be

Street

A Bolland, 8

Postal Code

6041

E-Mail

[email protected]
[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED