This new project is focusing on new regulatory mechanisms of metabolism and their relevance for cancer metastasis, funded by a Worldwide Cancer Research grant. The current research of the lab is focused on mechanotransduction and how this regulates signaling and metabolism.

Aberrant sensing of nucleic acids originating from the expression of endogenous retroviral elements or accumulating DNA damage and consequent increase in type I IFN levels have been suggested to be a primary driver of pathogenesis of the Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome (AGS), a genetic Leukodystrophy that mainly affects the brain, immune system and skin. Nevertheless, the precise molecular mechanisms triggering the disease remain elusive. On these premises, we arerecruiting a post-doctoral fellow with strong experience in iPSC-based differentiation of Neural Stem Cells and Progenitorand/or innate immunity to viral infectionsto work on a project aimed at evaluating the consequences of the AGS gene defects in the human Central Nervous Systems (CNS) taking advantage of iPSC-based in vitrodifferentiations. The goal is to elucidate the role of different cell types of the CNS, including microglia, in AGSand to investigate what are the endogenous signals that aberrantly activate the disease-causing antiviral responsesin these cells. We combine molecular virology approaches with state-of-the-art NGS technology and proteomics in the highly relevant context of human iPSC-based in vitro disease models.

We are looking for a researcher who will help develop new techniques and assays to integrate stem cell biology, immunology and developmental biology. As a research assistant,you will also provide technical support to the projects of other researchers in the lab as well as help with general lab management. Experimental approaches include cell and molecular biology, flow cytometry and cell sorting as well as in vivo model systems, for which previous experience is required.

The laboratory on Prof. Massimo Santoro (www.massimosantorolab.com) is seeking a PhD student to study the role of mevalonate metabolism and ferroptosis in cancer growth and spreading (Santoro, Cell Metabolism, 2020: Arslanbaeva and Santoro, Redox Biology, 2020). Our team has recently identified a set of novel metabolic enzymes that is crucial for regulation of mevalonate metabolism and ferroptosis (Mugoni et al., Cell 2013, Mugoni et al., Nature Protocols, 2013; Oberkersch et al., 2020 in revision: Tosi et al., 2021 in preparation). Using mouse genetic approaches as well as advanced molecular and microscopic techniques we want to elucidate how lipid signaling and metabolism regulate melanoma survival and progression. Our laboratory has acquired strong experience in biochemistry, genetic, molecular and cellular biology of endothelial and cancer cells and animal models. Mouse animal facility, single cell RNA-seq, STED, multiphoton, light sheet microscopy equipment, and metabolic/proteomic core facilities are available in the laboratory and department. We believe that such studies offer unique opportunities for designing new therapeutic strategies against metastasis and cancer spreading.

The laboratory of Prof. Massimo Santoro at Dept. of Biology, University of Padua and Venetian Institute Molecular Medicine (https://massimosantorolab.com) is seeking for a PhD student and a postdoc fellow to study METABOLITES AS SIGNALING MOLECULES IN ANGIOGENESIS. Using human and mouse genetic approaches as well as advanced molecular and metabolic techniques we want to elucidate how endothelial cell metabolism regulate translation and epigenetic in angiogenesis and vascular maturation (Donadon and Santoro, Development, 2021, in press). The project will focus on the role of specific metabolites and metabolic signaling pathways recently identified in our laboratory (Oberkersch et al., 2020, in revision; Facchinello et al., 2020 in revision). Our laboratory has acquired strong experience in biochemistry, genetic, molecular and cellular biology of endothelial and mural cells in different vertebrate animal models and human primary cells. Mouse animal facility, single cell RNA-seq, STED, multiphoton, light sheet microscopy equipments, and metabolic/proteomic core facilities are available in the laboratory and department for these studies. The post-doc candidate must be highly motivated, enthusiastic and efficient researcher with a PhD in a relevant discipline and experience in genetic, molecular and cellular biology methods (priorities will give to candidates with already established expertise in mouse and zebrafish genetic). The candidate needs an outstanding publication record in peer-reviewed international journals (including at least one paper as a first author in top-journal). The candidate must be capable of working in a team as well as independently. The candidate is expected to independently establish all necessary techniques, introduce new technology, coordinate ongoing collaborations, and instruct other scientists. Excellent communication skills in spoken and written English are required.