PhD position in Biological Physics at Institut Curie, Paris

CELLULAR AND SUPRACELLULAR ARCHITECTURES: THE MANY WAYS TO EXPLORE THE THIRD DIMENSION

Cells in contact within a tissue routinely organize spatially at a supracellular scale in a way largely controlled by the cells’ mesoenvironment (at the scale of the population). These mesoscopic organizations rely on the collective: They cannot be explained solely by the behavior of individual single cells and their study requires specific experiments and theoretical models.
The present project aims at quantifying cell organizations in vitro, in various well-controlled environments. We propose to study the dynamics of the local orientation and the emergence of chirality in fibroblast-like populations cultured in micropatterned/microfabricated environments. Then, motivated by in vivo observations, we plan i/ to transpose these experiments to shaped surfaces (wires or spheres) and ii/ to quantify the transition from 2D (monolayer) to 3D (cell cords, spheroids or cysts) that cells spontaneously undergo upon confinement.
This interdisciplinary project involves new methodologies to be developed in our clean room facility or in the new IPGG Paris Microfluidics Institute. The project will be carried out in the framework of collaborations with biology and theory groups.

We are seeking a candidate with a strong motivation for interdisciplinary experimental work combining physics and cell biology. Candidates from different backgrounds (physics, biophysics, biology or engineering) are encouraged to apply.

Recent publications: Yevick et al. PNAS (2015) – Nier et al. PNAS 2015 – Garcia et al. PNAS (2015) – Deforet et al. Nat. Commun. (2014) – Duclos et al. Soft Matter (2014) – Reffay et al. Nat. Cell Biol. (2014) – Deforet et al. Nat. Meth. (2012).

Position to start October 2016.

Please, direct questions to Pascal Silberzan (pascal.silberzan@curie.fr).