Post-doctoral Position - Subtil Lab

Post-doctoral Position - Subtil Lab

Institut Pasteur

Paris, France

Host lab:

Chlamydia trachomatis is a human-adapted pathogen and develops exclusively inside a vacuolar compartment. It is the leading cause of sexually transmitted infections of bacterial origin. The Subtil lab investigates how the bacteria manipulate the host cell to establish a beneficial replication niche. Our recent studies have characterized some of the consequences of infection on host cell intracellular traffic, host metabolism, chromatin integrity and the innate response to infection.

Project:

The bacteria control the behavior of the epithelial cells they infect by secreting dedicated ‘effector’ proteins in the host cytoplasm. These proteins, which usually target key functional nodes of the host, constitute unique angles to probe the normal behavior of eukaryotic cells. By combining novel tools (e.g. genetically modified Chlamydia strains) and techniques (culture of primary epithelial cells in organoids, reconstruction of the Fallopian tube-on-chip), the post-doctoral fellow will investigate the function of several effector proteins during C. trachomatis infection. This project has the potential to reveal novel features of the biology of eukaryotic cells. It will deepen our mechanistic understanding of the microbe’s ability to escape host defense and establish a novel model for the study of pathologies of the upper genital tract in women.

Requirements:

• PhD in cell biology, with experience in microscopy techniques and image analysis;
• Experience in molecular biology (cloning, generation of KO cell lines etc.) will be appreciated;
• Experience in microbiology is not required.