PhD student position - Ovarian cancer Research

13 May 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Université de Caen Normandie

Department

14

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

25 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

35

Offer Starting Date

1 Oct 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

Each year, more than 150 000 deaths are associated with ovarian cancer worldwide. Despite improvements in its therapeutic management, its prognosis remains poor due to late diagnosis and acquired resistance to chemotherapies used, justifying the development of new therapies.

Due to impressive therapeutic effects, immunotherapies tend to take an increasingly important place in the treatment of many cancers such as lung or skin cancers. Immunotherapy consists of creating or strengthening a reaction of our immune system against cancer cells in order to eradicate them. Unfortunately, these immunotherapies have shown little effect in ovarian cancers. This lack of effect is unexpected given the significant genetic instability of ovarian cancers, one of the consequences of which is the activation of immune cells.

In fact, half of ovarian cancers present an alteration of one of the repair pathways for breaks in their DNA. The accumulation of these breaks will result in DNA fragments leaking out of the nucleus which will then end up in the cytosol, the liquid phase in which the nucleus is immersed. However, the cells of our body are equipped with a cytosolic DNA detector in order to respond promptly to the presence of DNA of viral origin during an infection, by triggering the activation of our immune system. It is these same detectors, in particular the protein called cGAS, which will recognize the cytosolic DNA of cancer cells and, after STING protein activation, alert the immune cells. But how can we explain the lack of effect of immunotherapies in ovarian cancers whose cells are supposed to activate the immune system? Furthermore, recent research has highlighted the major role of cGAS protein activation in the therapeutic effect of immunotherapies on skin and colorectal cancers.

Hence, the objective of this project is to understand the links between the cGAS/STING activity of ovarian cancer cells and the immune infiltrate shaping of these tumors. These data will guide research and development of new clinical strategies to sensitize ovarian cancers to immunotherapies.

To carry out this research, we will benefit from expertise of the team and of the ORGAPRED platform in the generation of laboratory ovarian tumors called “tumoroids”. These models are established after culturing cancer cells in a gel giving them optimal growth conditions to reproduce the tumor from which they came. These cells come from the dissociation of surgical samples of ovarian tumors from patients treated at the François Baclesse Cancer Center. The advantages of these models are, on the one hand, that they do not require any animal for their establishment and, on the other hand, that they can be maintained and amplified in culture while retaining their initial characteristics, thus making it possible to carry out various tests on them. Furthermore, the laboratory and the ORGAPRED platform have established tumoroid models enriched in immune cells. These immune cells, present in the tumor tissue, are recovered at the time of tumor dissociation and then amplified. These enriched tumoroid models unique in France are essential for identifying treatments that can sensitize ovarian cancers to immunotherapies.

Requirements

Research Field

Biological sciences » Biology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications
The candidate must have a master’s degree in Biology. He must be involved, curious, and autonomous. In addition, the candidate must be able to work in a team on multidisciplinary projects. Knowledge of the cGAS/STING pathway and cancer immunology is desired. On a technical level, the candidate must have acquired experience in cell culture, and classic cellular and molecular biology techniques (nucleic acid and protein extraction, quantitative RT-PCR, western blot, immunocytochemistry or histology, cytometry). Experience with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing approaches will be highly appreciated.

Languages

FRENCH

Level

Basic

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Good

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Centre Francois Baclesse

Country

France

City

Caen

Postal Code

14076

Street

3 avenue du Général Harris

Geofield

Where to apply

E-mail

[email protected]

Contact

City

Caen

Website

http://www.unicaen.fr

Street

3 avenue du Général Harris

Postal Code

14076

E-Mail

[email protected]

Phone

0231455229

STATUS: EXPIRED