Doctoral (PhD) student position in mucosal vaccination
Topic description
A 3-year PhD position supported by the ANR program is available at the U INSERM unit, School of Medicine (site Bichat), Paris (Team : Innate immunity and anti-infective pulmonary defences, Professor JM Sallenave).
The PhD will be supervised by Dr Ignacio GARCIA-VERDUGO. The host laboratory investigates host-pathogen interactions and develops new therapies to enhance mucosal immunity in the context of lung infections
Project .
The goal of this project is to develop new intranasal vaccines strategies. Specifically, this project aims to develop protein vectors for intranasal delivery of vaccine antigens.
The project integrates protein engineering and mucosal immunology. Specifically, the project aims : 1) To construct specific vaccine protein vectors and to evaluate the interaction of the constructs with the respiratory-associated immune system vitro.
2) To evaluate in vivo the immunogenicity and efficiency of intranasal vaccine formulations in a murine model of influenza virus infection.
The project will be performed in collaboration with other research teams at Pasteur Institute and Cochin Institute in Paris.
Candidate Profile .
We are looking for highly motivated individuals willing to work in a multi-disciplinary academic environment.
Candidates must have a Master-2 degree or equivalent level to apply (French Bac). In addition, the candidate is expected to have a scientific background in at least one of the following fields : immunology, epithelial cell biology, protein engineering / chemistry.
Any additional specific technological / scientific expertise will be valued as an asset.
Missions
The candidate is expected to :
1. Perform experiments and reproduce experimental protocols using in vitro and in vivo (animal experimentation) approaches.
2. Analyse experimental data and keep organized data archives.
3. Interact and collaborate productively with other lab members and research teams.
4. Present data in lab meetings and communicate research outputs in international scientific meetings.
Contact & applications . For applications, please send to Mr Garcia-Verdugo one CV (including recent academic grades), a motivation letter and the email contact for 2 references.
Funding category
Public funding alone (i.e. government, region, European, international organization research grant)
Funding further details