Postdoc or PhD student Cell Biology/Genomics in Breast Cancer (Discovering novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in treatment-resistant breast cancer)

The Netherlands Cancer Institute (AVL-NKI) is looking for a fulltime Postdoc or PhD student Cell Biology/Genomics in Breast Cancer (Discovering novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in treatment-resistant breast cancer).

Function description
The research group of Wilbert Zwart at the division of Oncogenomics is specialized in hormonal regulation in cancer. Hormones are critical drivers in multiple cancers, and hormonal therapy represents the very backbone of treatments for different tumor types, including breast cancer and prostate cancer. However, resistance to treatment is common and a deeper mechanistic understanding of hormonal regulation and acquired therapy resistance is critical to develop novel therapeutic strategies and improve patient outcome.
Recently, the Zwart lab has reported that Estrogen Receptor signalling in breast cancer is critically dependent on endonuclease FEN1 (Flach et al., Cancer Res. 2020. 15;80(10):1914-1926). FEN1 is required for ER transcription complex formation, and its inhibition prevented ER/driven tumor cell proliferation, also in therapy resistant tumors. This work forms the basis of the current project, in which we aim to elucidate the complex crosstalk between ER biology and DNA damage repair in breast cancer, in relation to 3D genome regulation in cancer. 

Responsibilities:
The successful candidate will continue an ongoing research line in the lab to establish the link between DNA damage repair and ER biology, in relation to 3D genome organization. You will perform cell biological, genomic and biochemical experiments in cell culture and mouse models to ultimately translate this knowledge towards the clinic. The successful applicant will also will be involved in writing of scientific papers, project reports and grant applications.