EuReCa PhD Program – 8 PhD positions in September 2023 at Institut Curie (COFUND)

Institut Curie is recruiting 8 PhD students through its international program called EuReCa (Europe, Research & Care).
This program, part funded by the European Commission’s MSCA COFUND scheme, provides PhD students with a 3-year doctoral contract, a high level interdisciplinary, inter-sectorial, as well as international training and coaching sessions with personalized career development plans, secondments and mentoring.

PhD research projects in life sciences cover Institut Curie’s priority research themes:

• Epigenetics, RNA and genome dynamics
• Cell biology and developmental biology
• Tumor biology and immunology
• Radiobiology and molecular imaging
• Physics of living systems and chemical biology
• Computational and systems biology

Institut Curie brings together a world-class multidisciplinary cancer research center and a model hospital group in Paris and surroundings. By embracing cross-disciplinary approaches, it drives the discovery of more effective treatments and leads to improved patient care.

Covid-19 notice: Please note that the entire recruitment process will be done online and all necessary precautions will be taken on arrival according to the sanitary situation in September 2023.

Open positions

Project 1
Histone variant H3.3 and cellular programs during development and cancer
Thesis supervisor(s): Geneviève Almouzni & Iva Simeonova
Research group: Chromatin Dynamics

Project 2
Optical Mapping on single chromosomes of DSB repair events by recombination in normal and cancer cells
Thesis supervisor(s): Valerie Borde
Research group: Chromosome dynamics and recombination

Project 3
Polymer modeling of local chromosome dynamics upon gene induction
Thesis supervisor(s): Antoine Coulon & Vittore Scolari
Research group: Genome Functions in Space and Time

Project 4
The role of mechano-chemical cues in vertebrate axial patterning and somite generation
Thesis supervisor(s): Karine Guevorkian and Benoit Sorre
Research group: Dynamic Control of Signaling and Gene Expression

Project 5
Temperature scaling of gene regulatory networks for C. elegans larval development
Thesis supervisor(s): Wolfgang Keil & Christopher M. Hammell
Research group: Quantitative Developmental Biology

Project 6
Investigating the role of Polycomb in epigenetic regulation and inheritance during mouse germline formation and embryogenesis: study of a new member of the PRC2 complex, EZHIP (Ezh2 Inhibitory Protein) using transgenic model
Thesis supervisor(s): Raphaël Margueron
Research group: Mechanisms of Repression by Polycomb Proteins

Project 7
Deciphering the dynamics of gene co-expression at the single cell level to understand patterning and epithelium-to-mesenchyme transition in development and cancer
Thesis supervisor(s): Anne-Hélène Monsoro-Burq
Research group: Signaling and Neural Crest Development

Project 8
Contribution of the roles of RNA species in the regulation of the human NHEJ-factor KU functions during DNA replication
Thesis supervisor(s): Vincent Pennaneach & Sarah Lambert
Research group: DNA Recombination, Replication and Genome Stability

Eligibility criteria
1. Early-stage researchers (ESR) shall at the call deadline be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree.
Full-time equivalent research experience is measured from the date when a researcher obtained the degree which would formally entitle him or her to embark on a doctorate.

2. Applicants may not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years prior to January 9th, 2023 (call’s first deadline).
Time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention, compulsory national service and/ or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.

3. Applicants must be in possession of a European master degree or equivalent master’s degree which would formally entitle them to embark on a doctorate.

Selection process
Application deadline: January 13th, 2023 at 4:00pm (CET)
Candidates have to complete an online form in English in time via the web-based application portal. Applications will be evaluated through a three-step process:

• Eligibility check of applications in Jan.-Feb. 2023
• 1st round selection: Evaluation & ranking of applications by the Review Board in March 2023
• 2nd round selection: Shortlisted candidates are invited for an online interview session by the Selection Committee in April 17-19, 2023.
Final results will be given in May 2023. Start of PhD on September 1st, 2023.

Additional comments
The EuReCa PhD Program is in English.
International students willing to apply for the EuReCa PhD Program should inquire about the visa procedure regarding their country.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions grant agreement no. 847718.

About the employer
• The mission of Institut Curie’s Research Centre is to understand the complex workings of both normal and cancerous cells in their environment in an effort to find innovative and increasingly effective therapeutic approaches.