Missions

The selected candidate will be responsible for developing a new technology involving radioactivatable prodrugs for the treatment of solid tumors. She/he will synthesize several compounds and evaluate them biologically both in vitro and in vivo, with the goal of identifying a “lead” compound for the next stage of project development.
Research Project Context:
As part of a CNRS pre-maturation program, a 13-month engineering position in organic chemistry and biology is available to develop an innovative technology for the treatment of solid tumors. This project spans from chemical synthesis of compounds to preliminary in vitro and in vivo evaluations, and focuses on the design of anticancer agents that can be activated by ionizing radiation for use in radio/chemotherapy.
The team at ICSN, in collaboration with a medical physics team from ISMO, is developing a technology that enables the activation of prodrugs exclusively under irradiation at doses used in clinical radiotherapy. This approach aims to improve conventional anticancer treatments by minimizing undesirable side effects. The selected candidate will join a group within the Chemobiology department at ICSN, which includes two permanent researchers. For tasks related to evaluating the efficacy of the molecules in medical physics, the work will be carried out in collaboration with the ISMO team, which specializes in assessing anticancer compounds under irradiation.
Two letters of reference and detailed contacts must be provided. The ideal start date is early September 2025.

Activités

- Research, design, and optimize chemical synthesis techniques tailored to various radioactivatable prodrugs (combined solid-phase and solution-phase synthesis)
- Perform chemical syntheses and biological evaluation of the compounds (on in vitro tumor cell lines in 2D/3D models)
- Coordinate and perform routine characterization of synthesized compounds (NMR/LC-MS)
- Select appropriate synthesis and biological evaluation techniques; develop procedures and operating protocols within the research project framework.
- Study the toxicity and therapeutic effects of the compounds
- Validate data and effectively interpret in vitro and in vivo results; present results and draw conclusions from the experimental work
- Contribute to the development and execution of the research project.
- Proactively and critically generate proposals that positively impact the achievement of the project's objectives
- Draft laboratory notebooks, meeting reports, publications, and patents

Compétences

The research engineer (M/F) must have proven expertise in organic synthesis and a strong interest in working at the chemistry/biology interface for medical applications (solid background in organic chemistry and cellular evaluation).
The successful candidate will hold either:
i) a PhD in organic chemistry (equivalent to 8 years of higher education), or
ii) an engineering degree in chemistry (Master's level, 5 years of higher education) or a PharmD, complemented by at least 3 years of hands-on experience in organic synthesis, ideally in an industrial setting.
An interdisciplinary profile in chemistry and biology is required. Skills in peptide/prodrug chemistry, autonomy in cellular biology, and a basic understanding of medical physics will be considered assets.
The research engineer (M/F) must be highly motivated and fully committed to the development of both the project and the underlying technology. The selected candidate should be autonomous, rigorous, and well-organized, with a proactive and positive mindset suited for collaborative work within a multidisciplinary project team. Adherence to rules and procedures, including traceability and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), is essential.
Fluency in both French and English (spoken and written) is required.

Contexte de travail

The Institute of Chemistry for Natural Substances (ICSN) is a CNRS research unit whose work focuses on both chemistry and biology. It is part of the Université Paris-Saclay, a major research and academic consortium established in 2015 that brings together institutions from the southern Paris area. ICSN is located on the Gif-sur-Yvette campus and hosts approximately 125 staff members, including 76 permanent researchers and engineers. Within the Chemobiology Department (https://icsn.cnrs.fr/recherche/cb), the recruited engineer will join a research group composed of two senior researchers and two PhD students. ICSN provides a high-quality research environment at the chemistry/biology interface, with access to numerous platforms and state-of-the-art equipment (https://icsn.cnrs.fr/plateformes).
The Institute of Molecular Sciences of Orsay (ISMO) (https://www.ismo.universite-paris-saclay.fr/accueil-ismo/) is a joint research unit between CNRS and Université Paris-Saclay, comprising around 170 staff members, including 115 permanent researchers. ISMO is recognized as a center of excellence in molecular physics, nanosciences, and physics applied to biology. The Nanomedicine and Biophotonics team, involved in this project, carries out cutting-edge interdisciplinary research at the crossroads of chemistry, physics, and biology. The team benefits from extensive technological resources (lasers, spectrometers, particle beams, super-resolution microscopes) and has access to a variety of irradiation platforms (proton, carbon ions, etc.) through national and international collaborations.
The selected candidate will report to the project coordinator and will be supervised operationally by the two principal investigators leading the project.

Contraintes et risques

Project activities will be primarily divided between two laboratories, with periods dedicated to chemical synthesis at ICSN and biological evaluation of the compounds at ISMO. As such, the position will require geographical mobility between the two sites, both of which are part of Université Paris-Saclay and are located approximately 2 kilometers apart.

Informations complémentaires

Two reference letters and detailed contact information must be provided.
The ideal starting date is early September 2025.