Job offer

INSERM DR Grand Ouest; France; Sur place; EUR 35 000 - 55 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

An established industry player is seeking a highly motivated postdoc for a 2-year position in Chemical Biology. This role involves developing a supramolecular platform to study the IRE1 kinase's dynamic assembly under stress conditions. The successful candidate will engage in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of chemistry and biology, contributing to groundbreaking studies on cellular stress responses. Join a vibrant lab environment that fosters collaboration and innovation, with access to state-of-the-art facilities. This is a unique opportunity to advance your career while making impactful contributions to the field of chemical biology.

Qualifications

• PhD required with expertise in chemical biology or synthetic chemistry.
• Experience in protein engineering and structural biology preferred.

Responsabilités

• Plan and execute syntheses of supramolecular building blocks.
• Characterize enzymatic activities and protein interactions in vitro.

Connaissances

Chemical Biology

Synthetic Chemistry

Protein Engineering

Bioconjugation

Functional Characterization

Structural Characterization

Formation

PhD or equivalent

Outils

CryoEM

RT-qPCR

Description du poste

Biological sciences » Biological engineering

Organisation/Company: INSERM DR Grand Ouest

Research Field: Chemistry » Organic chemistry, Chemistry » Biochemistry, Biological sciences » Biological engineering

Researcher Profile: Recognised Researcher (R2)

Positions: Postdoc Positions

Country: France

Application Deadline: 31 Jul 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 39

Offer Starting Date: 1 Sep 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

2-year Postdoctoral position in Chemical Biology

Are you a skilled and highly motivated postdoc with expertise and a track record in chemical biology and/or synthetic chemistry?

Then apply to a fully funded 2-year postdoctoral position and join the lab to work on:

A supramolecular platform for the dynamic assembly of a transmembrane kinase.

Context – Cellular stress induced by the abnormal accumulation of improperly folded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is emerging as a major actor in disease development and an appealing actionable target. ER stress levels are under constant surveillance by the unfolded protein response (UPR), a major adaptive mechanism that lies at the core of cellular homeostasis and is responsible for cellular life-or-death decisions. The Inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1), the most evolutionary conserved UPR transducer, is an ER-resident transmembrane protein with a cytosolic dual kinase/RNase activity controlling pro-survival or pro-death signals. Yet, despite >20 years of investigations, the precise molecular mechanisms by which IRE1 is activated and exerts its catalytic and scaffolding functions still remain unclear and a subject of debate.

Mission – This project is part of the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)-funded INSPIRE program, which aims at deciphering the molecular mechanisms of IRE1 through a unique and novel prism at the interface of chemical biology, supramolecular chemistry, and structural biology. More specifically, you will focus on creating a supramolecular platform to use as a dynamic & synthetic mimic of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane to characterize how IRE1 dynamically assembles under set conditions.

This approach will enable you to:

1. Recreate low to high ER stress conditions for the systematic study of tailor-made protein complexes dynamic assembly and enzymatic activities within the supramolecular platform.
2. Investigate the stress sensing mechanism(s) by the luminal domain of this important kinase in charge of restoring protein homeostasis under ER stress (i.e. accumulation of misfolded protein).
3. Obtain structural information on these different complexes by microscopy & CryoEM.

Main activities –

• Synthetic chemistry (plan and carry out syntheses of the supramolecular building blocks)
• Protein expression in prokaryotic (bacteria) and eukaryotic (insect and human) cells.
• Protein engineering, bioconjugation, purification (affinity & SEC).
• Functional and biophysical characterization in vitro of enzymatic activities (kinase & RNase), substrate specificity (RT-qPCR), protein-protein interactions (biophysical assays).
• Structural characterization by CryoEM.

The candidate must possess a strong scientific rigor and a keen interest and motivation for interdisciplinary projects, along with autonomy, critical thinking, and the ability to work as part of a team.

Environment – The INSERM U1242 laboratory (https://oss-clcc.univ-rennes.fr/) is a translational research structure bringing together biologists, chemists, and clinicians to better understand oncogenesis in brain and gynecological cancers. By associating biologists working on cancer stress signaling pathways, chemists developing molecular tools, and cancer clinicians, the laboratory aims at deciphering how tumor cells cope with stresses to resist death and how they could be sensitized to treatments. The candidate will join an exciting and multidisciplinary scientific environment with on-site access to cutting-edge facilities in chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, cell biology, and structural biology.

The INSERM U1242 laboratory is affiliated with the Université of Rennes, a top French university that offers a dynamic and lively international campus with an ideal location less than 2 hours from Paris and 1 hour from Saint Malo and the beautiful Brittany coast.

National and international collaborations

• Pr. Leif A. Eriksson, molecular modeling of protein complexes, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

To satisfy the fellowship criteria, you must have spent at least 18 months abroad between the 1st of May 2021 and the start of the project and have less than 4 years of experience post-PhD.

The evaluation process is on a rolling basis

To apply, send CV, cover letter, and at least one contact likely to provide a recommendation to:

E-mail: [e-mail]

Requirements

Research Field: Chemistry

Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Research Field: Biological sciences

Education Level: PhD or equivalent

Languages: ENGLISH

Level: Excellent

Research Field: Chemistry, Biological sciences

Years of Research Experience: 1 - 4

Additional Information

To satisfy the fellowship criteria, you must have spent at least 18 months abroad between the 1st of May 2021 and have less than 4 years of experience post-PhD.

Selection process: The evaluation process is on a rolling basis.

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available: 1

Company/Institute: Inserm U1242 Oncogenesis Stress Signaling Laboratory

Country: France

State/Province: Ille-et-Vilaine

City: Rennes

Postal Code: 35042

Street: Avenue de la Bataille Flandres Dunkerque