Postdoctoral position (4 years) in functional genomics : analysis of premature ovarian insufficiency using fish models

As part of a collaboration between Julien Bobe (INRAE Rennes) and Sylvie Jaillard (Rennes University Hospital), partners in the ANR-funded OVOPATH project (2027–2030), the recruited postdoctoral researcher will aim to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating female fertility. The main scientific challenge of the project is to identify and functionally validate genetic determinants of fertility in vertebrates and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Based on data from patients with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), a condition that is a major cause of female infertility, the hospital partner has identified strong candidate genes carrying mutations that may explain the condition. These genes are currently classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). The role of these genes in fertility will be functionally validated in vivo using the medaka fish model, which enables a semi-high-throughput approach through genome editing to disrupt gene function. Confirmation of a reduced-fertility phenotype in medaka in vivo will pave the way for investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms, which is the main objective of the PhD project. The broader relevance of these findings will be considerable, owing to the integrated use of human clinical data and experimental studies in a model fish species.