Post-doctoral position in Asymmetric heart morphogenesis, Paris

The heart functions in two parallel but asymmetric circuits, in which the right and left ventricles drive the pulmonary and systemic circulations, respectively. In the heterotaxy syndrome, abnormal left-right patterning of the embryo leads to a spectrum of severe structural heart defects, the heterogeneity of which remains puzzling. Whereas the molecular cascade breaking the bilateral symmetry of the early embryo has been well characterised, how asymmetry is sensed by organ-specific precursor cells to control organogenesis remains poorly understood. The Meilhac lab uses mouse as a model to elucidate basic mechanisms of asymmetric heart morphogenesis, uncover novel genetic players and explore how this relates to congenital heart defects in patients.

Previous work in the lab has characterized mouse models of heterotaxy and generated a large transcriptomic dataset to screen for novel asymmetric factors. A challenge is to understand their function at specific asymmetric steps of heart morphogenesis. The project will exploit interdisciplinary expertise at the forefront of developmental biology, computational science and pediatric cardiology. Using cutting-edge technologies in omics, mouse genetics and quantitative 3D imaging, the project will provide novel insights into basic morphogenesis mechanisms, while deciphering pathological processes in the heart, potentially relevant to other asymmetric visceral organs.

Our lab is located at the Institut Imagine, within the hospital Necker-Enfant Malades, and is part of the Dept of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology of the Institut Pasteur, which together offers a vibrant multidisciplinary and international research environment with state-of-the art technological platforms, downtown Paris.