Post Doctoral Training Fellow: Cytoskeleton and - London, United Kingdom - The Institute of Cancer Research

The Institute of Cancer Research

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London, United Kingdom

3 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

Key Information:

Duration of Contract:
Fixed Term for 3 years in the first instance

Hours per week: 35 hours per week (Full Time)

Closing Date:
Tuesday 2nd April 2024

Interviews:
w/c 15th April 2024

Job Details:

Under the leadership of Professor Victoria Sanz-Moreno, we are seeking a creative and motivated Postdoctoral Training Fellow to study tumour invasive patterns, and tumour microenvironmental characteristics associated with invasive and metastatic behaviour.

The proposed project aims to experimentally characterise how invasive cancer cells interact with the Extracellular Matrix and components of the TME (endothelial cells, immune cells, fibroblasts, etc) Studies will be conducted in the primary tumour and in the metastatic setting.

The project will entail the use on molecular pathology features associated with information we have gathered on cytoskeletal, nuclear, mitochondrial (Rodriguez Hernandez Nat Comm 2020; Jung Nature Cell Biology 2023; Crosas-Molist Nature Communications 2023) and immunosuppressive features (Samain Science Advances 2023, Orgaz Cancer Cell 2020, Georgouli Cell 2019) of highly invasive and metastatic cancer cells.

For general information on Post Doc's at The ICR can be found here.

Key Requirements
The ICR has a workforce agreement stating that Postdoctoral Training Fellows can only be employed for up to 7 years as PDTF at the ICR, providing total postdoctoral experience (including previous employment at this level elsewhere) does not exceed 10 years

Cytoskeleton and Cancer Metastasis Group
Rho GTPases are molecular switches that control the cytoskeleton.

The spreading of cancer cells from one part of the body to another, called metastasis, is one of the main causes of cancer death.

To metastasise, tumour cells must move through tissues, cross tissue boundaries and survive at secondary sites, which requires cell motility, remodelling of cell-cell contacts, interactions with the extracellular matrix and outgrowth at the secondary tissue.

Rho GTPases control actomyosin contractility, adhesive forces, matrix degradation and pro-survival signalling - all necessary for cells to migrate, disseminate and survive efficiently.

In our lab we are studying how Rho GTPase signalling and cytoskeletal remodelling can control all these processes that are crucial for metastatic cells to succeed at growing in a distant tissue, with a focus on these processes in the context of breast cancer.

We are particularly interested in understanding how cancer cells sense extracellular signals via their cytoskeleton and integrate the responses altering gene transcription to promote metastasis.

The team is working on identifying molecular cues that will aid in tumour metastatic dissemination via the crosstalk between the cytoskeleton and the nucleus.

Moreover, whether metastatic cells develop an (epigenetic) memory is a matter of active investigation in the lab.

We have a particular focus on Rho-kinase (ROCK) and Myosin II, as we believe this axis is crucial for the regulation of many processes in metastatic cancer cells.

How cancer cells interact with the tumour microenvironment is crucial for tumour progression and dissemination. The team aims to understand how the cytoskeleton in cancer cells affects cancer cell-normal cell communication.

Using co-cultures and 3-Dimensional matrix imaging systems, the team analyses communication of cancer cells with endothelial cells, fibroblasts and/or immune cells.

These approaches allow manipulation of the cytoskeleton of cancer cells to analyse host tissue responses, both within the matrix and within the non-cancerous cells.

We also aim to understand if this process will be aided by signals sensed by the cytoskeleton of cancer cells and transmitted to transcription factors and/or chromatin.

We think this is very important as cancer cells are addicted to transcriptional rewiring.

The lab is highly multidisciplinary, as we use a combination of "OMICs", state of the art microscopy, molecular and cellular biology, animal models and patient material.

The ultimate goal is to define if manipulating the cytoskeleton of cancer cells will lead to improved efficacy of therapeutic approaches in patients with metastatic disease, with a special focus on breast cancer metastasis.

About The Institute of Cancer Research:

Why work for us?
As a member of staff, you'll have exclusive access to a range of staff benefits.

The Institute of Cancer Research, London, is one of the world's most influential cancer research institutes, with an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years.

Further information about working at the ICR can be found here_._