Thesis proposals

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Recruitment of future PhD students in the framework of the 2021 organized by the Doctoral School of Life and Health Sciences (ED62) and the University of Aix-Marseille

For more information, please consult the ED62 website from March 22, 2021

To apply, send your CV and a letter of motivation to the PI of the subject

Deadline for submission : April 15, 2021

Mechanisms of lung tumorigenesis driven by heme signaling and protein degradation machinery
(funded offer)

The goal of this project is to discover the molecular mechanisms regulating the heme-FBXO22 pathway, to identify its targets, and to determine their role in lung cancer pathogenesis. The results of this study will be determinant to identify specific cancer vulnerabilities driven by alteration of the heme pathway that could be exploited for the design of new and more effective therapies to be used in the clinic.

Contact : Luca.Lignitto@nyulangone.org

Start of the thesis January 3, 2022
Application deadline November 1, 2021

More infos

DNA damage and genome instability

Our overall goal is to understand how the cells deal with this damaged DNA. We aim at understanding the mechanisms that regulates thebalance between error-free (Damage avoidance) and mutagenic (translesion synthesis) DNA damage tolerance mechanisms

Contact : vincent.pages@inserm.fr

Start of the thesis October 1, 2021
Application deadline May 17, 2021

spatio-dynamic regulation controlling the survival of tumor cells

The goal is to provide a therapeutic strategy targeting the mechanism of stress identified, in order to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic treatments administered to patients.

Contact : emilie.mamessier@inserm.fr

CADHERINS AND PANCREATIC CANCER AGRESSIVENESS

The objective of the proposed thesis is to determine if the nature of adhesion molecules, mainly cadherins, expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents a signature of tumor aggressiveness. It aims to determine whether these molecules impact migration, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. Particular attention will be paid to the ability of cadherins to regulate the stability and activity of membrane microstructures called invadopodia. These structures, involved in the degradation of the extracellular matrix, are most likely involved in tumor metastasis.

Contact : frederic.andre@inserm.fr ou veronique.rigot@inserm.fr

IMPACT OF MEDULLARY ADIPOCYTES ON THE PROGRESSION AND CHEMORESISTANCE OF MYELOID LEUKEMIAS

Mast cell leukemia (ML) is a highly aggressive blood cancer characterized by the excessive proliferation of immune cells called mast cells (MC) in the bone marrow. The prognosis for patients with SCI is extremely poor (less than 6 months) and resistance to cytoreductive therapies and tyrosine kinase inhibitors is common. The risk of developing SCI is higher in elderly subjects who generally have more fatty tissue in the
bone marrow than younger subjects. Because of the potentially inflammatory nature of bone marrow adipose tissue and its ability to act as a source of fatty acids and adipokines, we want to study how bone marrow adipose tissue leukemic mast cells and modulate disease progression and resistance to standard therapies in order to develop better to develop better treatment options for SCI patients.

Contact : fabienne.brenet@inserm.fr et patrice.dubreuil@inserm.fr

Dynamic of replication of telomeric sequences

The aim of the project is to further investigate the molecular mechanisms which ensure the stability of repeated sequences in the yeast S. pombe, focusing on the mechanism of fork stabilization and fork restart. The main techniques used in the laboratory are: the genetics of the yeast S. pombe, PCR, cloning, Western blot, Southern blot, co-immuniprecipitation (CoIP), chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), two-dimensional DNA gel, yeast two-hybrid,….

Contact : stephane.coulon@inserm.fr

Polymorphism and recombination

Our project combines molecular genetics and yeast genomics approaches, including a significant amount of bioinformatics analysis of NGS data and recombination profiles in which the lab has strong experience (Marsolier-Kergoat et al. 2018). Our goal is to better understand the balance between repair and rejection of the "heteroduplex" DNA that forms when two polymorphic molecules recombine with each other. Such a balance controls both meiotic allelic shuffling, but also mitotic and meiotic non-allelic recombinations that cause major chromosomal rearrangements. This project is therefore of great interest in the fields of genome evolution and genomic instability responsible for many human diseases, including cancers.

Contact : bertrand.llorente@inserm.fr

Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying the benefits of exercise in pancreatic cancer

Contact : alice.carrier@inserm.fr

Integrative study of the dialog between pancreatic tumors and their micro- and macro-environment