PhD Contract (M/F) in Cell Biology

European Commission; France; Sur place; EUR 40 000 - 60 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

Une opportunité passionnante est offerte pour un candidat au doctorat à l’Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule en France. Le projet se concentre sur la caractérisation des mécanismes régissant les gouttelettes lipidiques et leurs interactions avec les membranes mitochondriales. Le candidat bénéficiera d'un environnement de recherche dynamique et d'un accès aux plateformes technologiques de pointe pour mener à bien ses travaux de recherche.

Prestations

Accès à des équipements de recherche de pointe

Environnement de recherche collaboratif

Qualifications

• Candidat(e) motivé(e) pour un doctorat avec des compétences en biologie cellulaire.
• Expérience en imagerie et biophysique souhaitée.
• Capacité à travailler en collaboration et disponibilité pour les formations.

Responsabilités

• Caractériser la morphologie et la composition moléculaire des jonctions MAM-LD.
• Étudier le rôle des protéines de transport lipidique dans les dynamiques des gouttelettes lipidiques.
• Explorer l'échange lipidique aux jonctions entre organelles.

Connaissances

Imagerie avancée

Biophysique membranaire

Analyse lipidique

Formation

Doctorat en biologie ou domaine similaire

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule Research Field Biological sciences Biological sciences » Biology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country France Application Deadline 23 Jun 2025 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Oct 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

The project will take place at the I2BC (Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell), a joint research unit of the CNRS, CEA, and Université Paris-Saclay, comprising around 600 researchers across five scientific departments. The institute hosts 17 high-level technological platforms and shared support services.
The PhD candidate will join the “Lipid Trafficking and Membrane Contact Sites” team, led by Francesca Giordano, within the Cell Biology Department, located on the CNRS campus in Gif-sur-Yvette (Île-de-France). The team, currently composed of of six members (1 Inserm Research Director, 1 postdoc, 2 research engineers, 2 PhD students) will welcome three new members in September 2025 (1 postdoctoral fellow, 1 visiting associate professor, and 1 visiting PhD student). The team has recognized expertise in membrane dynamics, electron microscopy, and the study of inter-organelle contact sites.
The PhD student will be directly supervised by the team leader and a postdoc with strong expertise in high-resolution imaging and lipid analysis, as well as supported technically by an engineer specialized in electron microscopy. The student will benefit from a stimulating scientific environment and privileged access to state-of-the-art technological platforms. A major advantage is the immediate proximity to the Imagerie-Gif platform, which houses cutting-edge equipment for fluorescence and electron microscopy, and to the proteomics platform.
The project will be conducted in close collaboration with Dr. Abdou Rachid Thiam's team (ENS Paris, Physics Laboratory), specialists in lipid droplet biophysics and membrane reconstitution ex vivo. As part of the 80 Prime PhD program, the student will have the opportunity to engage in regular collaborative work and receive training with this team. The project will also benefit from ongoing collaborations of F. Giordano's team—at the Paris-Saclay campus, as well as at national and international levels—with experts in lipid metabolism and adipocyte physiology.

This PhD project, funded by the CNRS 80 Prime program, is part of a collaboration between two research teams with complementary expertise in cell biology and membrane biophysics. The objective is to elucidate the structural, molecular, and biophysical mechanisms regulating the formation, growth, and renewal of lipid droplets (LDs) at endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes associated with mitochondria, known as MAMs (Mitochondria-Associated Membranes).
LDs are dynamic organelles essential for lipid storage and energy homeostasis. Their dysfunction is implicated in metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, lipodystrophies, and neurodegenerative disorders. MAMs are specialized contact sites between the ER and mitochondria and serve as key platforms for lipid exchange between these organelles.
The team recently identified a novel tripartite junction between mitochondria, the ER, and LDs (MAM-LD) with unique morphological and functional characteristics. The project aims to characterize the architecture and molecular components of these junctions. A particular focus will be on lipid transporters localized at MAMs, which are likely to regulate local phospholipid and sterol fluxes and influence lipid fate (storage vs. metabolic conversion).
The PhD candidate will adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining various techniques including advanced cell imaging (confocal and super-resolution microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and 3D FIB-SEM), subcellular fractionation, biochemistry, membrane biophysics, and in vitro and ex vivo lipid transfer assays.
Project Objectives:
1. Characterize the morphology and molecular composition of MAM-LD junctions in various mammalian cell types and metabolic contexts, including pathological conditions (e.g., hepatic steatosis, lipodystrophies).
2. Investigate the role of metabolic and lipid transport proteins in regulating LD and mitochondrial dynamics.
3. Explore how lipid exchanges at MAMs are coordinated with other intracellular contact sites, such as ER–plasma membrane junctions.
The expected outcomes will provide a better understanding of how MAMs orchestrate intracellular lipid fluxes and their involvement in diseases such as obesity, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and certain cancers.