the community site for and by
developmental and stem cell biologists

PhD position in centrosome and cilia biology, IBMB-CSIC, Barcelona.

Posted by , on 15 October 2021

Location: Barceloma, Spain

Closing Date: 7 November 2021

 Location: IBMB-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain. 

The Saade team is welcoming application for a PhD student position to unravel how the centrososme/cilia axis control neural precursor cells (NPCs) maintenance and differentiation during neurogenesis. 

Research Background: Neurogenesis is a temporally and quantitatively highly balanced process which has to be tightly regulated, as even small alterations can have severe consequences for development or lead to neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). For example, microcephaly, one the most devastating type of brain size abnormality, starts with mutations and subsequent molecular deregulations mostly at the two subcellular levels, the centrosome and the primary cilia which in consequence affect NPCs mode of division. 

Research Objectives

1. Dissect for genes related to the evolutionry composition of the centrosome-cilia axis in NPCs. We study the impact of these genes on the behavior of NPCs and their role in centrosome and cilia biology, in order to decipher their role as cell fate determinants for a correct evolutionary growth of the central nervous system (CNS). 

2. Dissect for pathogenic structural variants (pSVs) in association to particular NDDs such as microcephaly. We study the consequences of abnormal centrosome and cilium function in human disease, with particular emphasis on the development of ciliopathies affecting the proper growth of CNS. 

Research Environment: The host team has a long-range experience in the field of centrosome/cilia signaling in neural development, provides the unique scientific background and leadership capacities, to successfully address these questions of neural-specific centrosome proteins in human brain evolution and the acquisition of cognitive abilities. We are recognized for our expertise in in vivo neural tube electroporation in the chick and we are implementing human neural tube organoids in the lab. The PhD student will benefit from state-of-the-art tools and platforms available within the institute and on campus. The candidate will be supported by the team members at the scientific and technical level. 

Your Profile: The candidate must have a basic knowledge in genetics, cellular and molecular biology.

 Please send your CV, a letter of motivation and contacts for references to: Pr. Elisa Marti (emgbmc@ibmb.csic.es) and Dr. Murielle Saade (msabmc@ibmb.csic.es). 

Closing Date: 7 November 2021

Scientific fields: Cell biology

Model systems: Chick, Organoid

Duration: Fixed term

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get involved

Create an account or log in to post your story on the Node.

Sign up for emails

Subscribe to our mailing lists.

Do you have any news to share?

Our ‘Developing news’ posts celebrate the various achievements of the people in the developmental and stem cell biology community. Let us know if you would like to share some news.