Post-doctoral opportunity in Strasbourg (France): Complex Organoids for IBD Immunotherapy

INSERM is an academic research organization dedicated to biomedicine and health that employs over 15 000 scientists, engineers and technicians in 365 labs spread across France. As such it provides a competitive salary/benefit package.

The INSERM lab UMR 1260 is located nearby the historic center of Strasbourg, a dynamic and cosmopolitan city in the heart of Europe that harbors an outstanding scientific and academic community while remaining on human scale. The INSERM lab UMR_S1260 is housed at the brand-new and environmentally-friendly CRBS (Strasbourg Biomedicine Research Center). Founded by INSERM and Strasbourg University in 2020, this federative structure brings together 300 people through medical and life sciences research laboratories, a clinical department and innovative start-ups. The CRBS aims to improve health, gain a better understanding of diseases and discover new therapeutic avenues, which is facilitated by its location on the university campus of the Strasbourg Hospital. The CRBS offers highly technical laboratories, a functional exploration platform with SPF health status, and a state-of-the-art imaging platform.

Project:

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory process causing numerous symptoms and potentially fatal complications. To address the unmet medical needs of IBD patients, an EU-funded multidisciplinary research program is seeking to develop an immunotherapy for a phase 1 clinical trial. The objective of the project is to develop a patient-derived ex vivo 3D preclinical model that will reconstitute the physiological complexity of the intestine and enable the testing of the immunotherapy.

Tasks:

• Design, perform and analyze lab experiments with human material
• Supervise the work of technical staff and potentially mentor students
• Interact with colleagues and collaborate with partners of various scientific backgrounds
• Present findings to colleagues/members of the consortium or at scientific conferences
• Write reports for the European consortium and scientific articles

Added value:

• The position provides an opportunity to work on an innovative project at the crossroad between tissue engineering and precision medicine. It will offer a dynamic and supportive working environment though a team of talented people who will value your ideas and contributions.
• The position may cover up to 24 months of salary. It may also lead to tenure position applications with the support of the project manager.

The candidate will need a solid experience in cellular and molecular biology. A background in 3D culture and/or gastroenterology will be valued but will not be mandatory. The candidate is expected to be dynamic, highly-organized and rigorous. He will need to appreciate teamwork and be able to interact efficiently with partners of a multidisciplinary consortium (English speaking/writing mandatory).

The post-doctoral fellow will be in charge of establishing a small biobank of intestinal organoids from IBD patients. His main focus will be towards epithelial intestinal cells but he will collaborate with immunology and neurobiology experts to set-up optimal co-culture conditions of a “gut-on-a-chip” prototype. He will also be involved in the establishment of the pre-clinical model per se using cutting-edge 3D bioprinting and microfluidic devices. Other important aspects of his work will be the characterization of the different models both in basal and inflammatory settings, using high-end omics and imaging techniques, and the testing of the immunotherapy product.