Postdoc position in matrix biomechanics and tissue morphogenesis in Paris

Extracellular matrix-mediated force propagation at a tissue/tissue interface

The role of mechanical forces in morphogenesis has been extensively studied at the level of single tissues. However, recent work showed that the mechanics of morphogenesis must also be understood in the framework of interacting tissues: neighboring tissues can push or pull on each other, through direct cell/cell contacts or a shared extracellular matrix (ECM), to control their final shape and position in the embryo. Our aim is to investigate how the ECM transmits mechanical forces between adjacent tissues during morphogenetic movements. To tackle this question, the postdoctoral fellow will study the ECM-mediated mechanical interplay between the olfactory placode and eye tissues in zebrafish, through advanced imaging of ECM dynamics and development of new tools to measure and modify ECM mechanical properties.

We are looking for an enthusiastic young researcher (ideally who has just obtained the PhD diploma, or about to), willing to join an interdisciplinary environment involving interactions between biologists and physicists. The team of Marie Breau (Mechanics of neuronal development) is located at the Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (IBPS) in the Developmental Biology Laboratory, and the project involves active collaboration with physicists from the group of Léa-Laetitia Pontani at the Laboratoire Jean Perrin (IBPS).

Requirements:

PhD in cell/developmental biology or in biophysics

Strong interest towards the biomechanics of tissue morphogenesis and interdisciplinary work

Additional beneficial skills:

Experience with the zebrafish model

Skills in molecular biology/cloning/transgenesis

Experience in live imaging/confocal microscopy and image analysis

The position is available from March 2024 onwards and will be funded by the ANR MECAMATRIX grant for 24 months. The fellow will receive full support to apply for further independent postdoctoral fellowships (EMBO, Marie Curie, FRM and others).

To apply, please send your CV including a list of your publications/preprints, a cover letter including the reasons why the position interests you, and two referees or more to marie.breau@sorbonne-universite.fr