Jobs at CNRS in United Kingdom

Organisation/Company: CNRS

Department: Institut de neurophysiopathologie

Research Field: Pharmacological sciences

Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 1 Jul 2025 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 35

Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2025

Funding: Not funded by an EU programme

Research Infrastructure Staff Position: No

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a severe brain tumor with limited treatment options. Standard care involves surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy with temozolomide. The tumor's aggressive nature leads to recurrence and a low 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. The median survival is only 15 months post-diagnosis, partly due to an immunosuppressive environment dominated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Although immunotherapies have improved outcomes for other cancers, they have not been effective for GBM, likely due to the presence of immunosuppressive TAMs. Targeting these TAMs to reverse immunosuppression is a promising strategy, but their functions are diverse and not well understood. The CAMEL project aims to characterize a specific TAM subset, ML-IAP+ TAMs, to better understand their role and propose new therapeutic strategies to enhance treatment efficacy.

Glioblastomas (GBM) are the most aggressive brain tumors and resistant to immunotherapies due to their immunosuppressive environment, primarily driven by TAMs. These immune cells are the predominant in GBM and include various subsets, which can be either anti- or pro-tumoral. The specific roles of each subset are still unclear. We have identified the ML-IAP protein, associated with poor GBM outcomes, in specific TAM subsets. Using an ML-IAP inhibitor, we demonstrated that these TAMs can be shifted to an anti-tumor state. The project's goal is to understand the roles of each ML-IAP TAM subset by developing new ML-IAP inhibitors for precise targeting, utilizing advanced imaging techniques and bioorthogonal methods. This project benefits from collaboration between biologists and chemists, facilitating the development of innovative therapeutic strategies.