Postdoctoral Position on Bacterial Adaptation to Oxidative Stress

Postdoctoral Position on Bacterial Adaptation to Oxidative Stress

Institut Pasteur

Paris, France

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic post-doctoral fellow to join a collaborative project aiming at studying how Leptospira adaptation to oxidative stress and to microaerophilic conditions have shaped their virulence.

Project Overview:

Leptospira is a bacterial genus that encompasses environmental saprophytes as well as pathogenic species responsible for the zoonotic disease leptospirosis. The clinical manifestations of this infection range from a febrile state to a severe life-threatening form characterized by multiple organ hemorrhages. Each year, 1 million of severe leptospirosis cases are estimated worldwide, with 10% of mortality.

Leptospira are understudied bacteria; their virulence mechanisms or how they survive inside hosts remain largely unknown. The ability of pathogenic Leptospira to resist oxidative stress is essential for their virulence. Interestingly, the repertoire of oxidative stress-related scavenging enzymes is different across the genus Leptospira, suggesting that the oxidative stress response has evolved with pathogenicity in this genus.

The aim of this project is to investigate the adaptation to oxidative stress and to microaerophilic conditions across the genus Leptospira, and to decipher the evolutionary trajectories that have led to the adaptation to host condition.This project will be conducted in collaboration with the teams of Dr Isabelle Martin-Verstraete (Institut Pasteur, France) and Dr Frédéric Veyrier (Institut Armand-Frappier, INRS, Canada).

Your Role:

As the key player of the project, you will decipher the mechanisms allowing Leptospira species to adapt to oxidants and low oxygen tension and study how these adaptive responses are transcriptionally regulated.

Profile:

The candidate must hold a PhD degree and have experience in Microbiology and Molecular Biology with a particular interest for Bacteriology. Skills in RNASeq, bacterial genetics and/or in vivo infection models will be appreciated. Applicants should demonstrate good communication skills, autonomy, teamwork skills, and a passion for scientific thinking. The candidate is expected to contribute both experimentally and intellectually to the development of the project.

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France      Biochemistry      Biology      Microbiology      Not for Profit      On-site      Postdoc      Institut Pasteur