PhD Student position in Gene Regulation

Introduction

UNIL is a leading international teaching and research institution, with over 5,000 employees and 17,000 students split between its Dorigny campus, CHUV and Epalinges. As an employer, UNIL encourages excellence, individual recognition and responsibility.

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Presentation

The Gambetta group (https://www.gambettalab.org) at the Center for Integrative Genomics at the University of Lausanne invites applications for a PhD student position in transcription regulation, with a focus on nuclear organization.

Gene regulation occurs within the three-dimensional nucleus, yet which features of genome organization directly affect transcription remain poorly understood. This project will investigate disease-relevant gain-of-function mutations suspected to alter 3D genome organization, asking which of these changes affect genome organization and gene regulation, and how. The findings will have important implications for understanding both gene regulation and genetic disease, and are expected to offer new evolutionary insight into how 3D genome folding wires genes to their regulatory elements.

Job information

Expected start date: as soon as possible

Contract length : 1 year, renewable

Activity rate : 100%

Workplace : University of Lausanne, Dorigny campus

Your responsibilities

The successful candidate will study how disease-relevant gain-of-function mutations affect genome organization and gene regulation, combining genetic engineering, genomics, biochemistry, and imaging approaches, mainly in Drosophila melanogaster. In addition to presenting results internally and externally, the candidate will have opportunities to gain teaching and mentoring experience through undergraduate courses and student research supervision.

Full funding for the position is available, but application to PhD fellowships is also expected.

Your qualifications

• A Master’s degree in any of the life sciences
• Interest in transcriptional regulation, nuclear organization, quantitative biology
• Excellent scientific writing, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Experience with genomics and imaging approaches are a plus

What the position offers you

You will be supervised by Prof. Maria Cristina Gambetta, in a diverse, dynamic, and international research laboratory. Hard and soft skill, and career development courses are offered on campus. You will enroll in a doctoral school of the Faculty of Biology and Medicine (https://www.unil.ch/ecoledoctoralefbm/en/home.html), such as the Doctoral Program in Quantitative Biology. You will work on your independent project but there is ample intellectual and technical expertise in the lab to make sure you are well-supported. There are regular possibilities to present and participate in local or international conferences and workshops. The working language is English.

We offer a nice working place in a multicultural, diverse and dynamic academic environment. Opportunities for professional training, a lot of activities and other benefits to discover.

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