Missions

The successful candidate will work in molecular microbiology and in particular horizontal gene transfer. It is in a framework of an ANR-funded collaborative project tackling reactions and responses during plasmid conjugation.

Activités

Bacterial conjugation is one of the three horizontal gene transfer mechanisms and a major driving force of bacterial genome evolution and dissemination of metabolic properties including (multi-)drug resistance. Even though conjugation has been studied and widely used for bioengineering for many decades, our recent findings suggest that we still lack a detailed understanding, particularly in the events occurring within the recipient cell between DNA entry and the eventual development of plasmid-encoded metabolic properties.

Our ANR project aims to provide a new integrated understanding of bacterial conjugation through measuring the real-time intracellular dynamics and regulation, characterizing the physiological impact of plasmid acquisition on the new host cell, and identifying new factors implicated in the different conjugation steps.

The main functions of the successful candidate will be to:

- Design and implement experiments: including (i) development of means to isolate 'young' transconjugant cells among the conjugation population, for downstream analysis; (ii) microscopy- and/or NGS-based methods to monitor reactions during conjugation
- Analyze and interpret experimental data, including computational analysis of image and/or sequencing data.
- Present work progress and results in the group and supergroup meetings and at national/international scientific conferences.
- Contribute to the writing of reports including scientific publications and applications related to the project.
- Contribute to the training of interns.

Compétences

- A PhD or equivalent in molecular microbiology.
- Scientific excellence proven by his/her accomplishments.
- Expertise in at least one of followings: (1) bacterial genetics, (2) cellular microbiology, (3) genomics technology.
- Good competency in data analysis (fluorescent images and next generation sequencing, by command line and/or MatLab) is a big plus
- Strong personal skills to effectively work autonomous and in collaborative teams.
- Fluency in English is required, and in French is a bonus .

Contexte de travail

The post-doctoral fellow will be part of the "Genome integrity and cell polarity in bacteria" team in the Genome Biology department within the Institute of Integrative Cell Biology (I2BC). The I2BC is a joint CNRS (UMR9198), CEA, and Paris-Saclay University research unit, made up of nearly 650 people. The unit represents an extremely rich and dynamic scientific environment with 60 research teams divided into 5 scientific departments, 15 technological platforms.

The I2BC is located in Gif-sur-Yvette, in the suburbs of Paris, and benefits from a convenient rail link with the city of Paris (~40 minutes) as well as with Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports.
The successful candidate will work under the supervision of the Team Leader. The institute is designated for the protection of the scientific and technical potential of the nation (PPST). Therefore, the acceptance of recruitment must be approved by the authority.

Contraintes et risques

Possible work in BSL-2 environment with class 2 pathogens

Informations complémentaires

The position is for maximum 2 years depending on the salary and experience