PhD positions are available in the course of Medical-Surgery BioTechnologies and Translational Medicine in the lab of prof. Francesca Gioia Klinger, at University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Section of Histology and Embryology. The research lab focus mainly on advanced techniques to protect and preserve the ovarian reserve in human and in mice models. In line with this, the research concentrate on the discovery of new molecules to be used as fertoprotective agents and the use of mesenchymal stem cells and their released factors to improve and preserve the ovarian environment

The call for applications is open for the PhD in Molecular Biomedicine jointly offered by the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Trieste and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) For info please refer to the Admission section of this website where you will find links to the official announcement and info for the application the available projects Deadline June 7, 2021 @ 1 PM CE

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.

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.

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.

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 focus of the lab(www.donatilab.org) is to understand how transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms control cell plasticity. This is achieved through the combination of bulk RNA-Seq, single cell RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, functional genomics such as pooled shRNA screening, histology and advanced genetic approaches such as lineage tracing in vivo experiments

Applications are invited for postdoctoral research scientists in the area of quantitative molecular and cellular biology, cellular biochemistry and cancer cell biology. The successful candidate will work in close collaboration with a systems biologist to develop and validate a quantitative ODE model of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation and trafficking in physiology and cancer. The project is a collaborative effort between the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (IEO) in Milan, Italy and The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology (COSBI) in Rovereto (TN), Italy.