Profil Recherché

Titulaire d’un doctorat ou diplôme équivalent ou justifiant de titres et travaux scientifiques jugés équivalents par l’instance compétente de l’établissement. Il n’y a aucune condition d’âge ou de nationalité pour candidater. Tous les emplois CNRS sont accessibles aux personnes en situation de handicap en bénéficiant d’aménagement d’épreuves rendus nécessaires par la nature du handicap

Stratégie d'établissement

The emergence of digital approaches and artificial intelligence technologies, in which CNRS is actively involved, is considerably accelerating scientific discoveries. It represents a major driver of progress, particularly in the field of structural biology, enabling the search for new molecular configurations, the atomic-level understanding of biological mechanisms, and the development of therapeutic, diagnostic or biotechnological strategies.
In this context, the Junior Professorship aims both to implement AI approaches for the development of integrative structural biology and to strengthen one of our leading laboratories in the field, the AFMB, which is highly connected to both the national and international scientific communities.
This Junior Professorship is part of two of the six major societal challenges, along with artificial intelligence and health and the environment, by conducting research at the interface of biological and digital sciences.

Stratégie du laboratoire d'accueil

The AFMB unit in Marseille is a leading research center in structural biology, renowned for its expertise in X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and multidisciplinary approaches (biochemistry, biophysics). It benefits from a solid network, notably within FRISBI (French Infrastructure for Integrated Structural Biology), and cutting-edge technologies for medical and environmental applications (pathophysiological mechanisms, therapies, biotechnologies). The Chair aims to integrate artificial intelligence to elucidate the structure-function relationships of macromolecules, predict structures from protein sequences and design new therapeutic and biotechnological tools. This project, combining experimentation and digital technology, will strengthen the training of Master's and PhD students and contribute to the thematic priorities on living matter.

Stratégie Internationale

The CNRS plays an active role in the European—and more broadly, international—research landscape in structural biology, where it stands out as a key contributor. The junior professorship will be hosted within the AFMB laboratory, a unit that is already deeply involved in major European research networks. Notably, the AFMB participates in the PANVIPREP consortium, which brings together 14 European partners with complementary expertise in virology, structural biology, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology. This consortium is dedicated to developing innovative antiviral strategies targeting viruses with a high epidemic or pandemic potential.
The AFMB laboratory is also internationally recognized for having developed, over the past fifteen years, the CAZy database (http://www.cazy.org), a widely used classification system for carbohydrate-active enzymes that correlates molecular structures with enzymatic mechanisms. The high-throughput tools it has developed for the modular and functional annotation of these enzymes—based on genomic and metagenomic sequences—are extensively utilized by the scientific community to identify candidate proteins.
In this context, the recruitment of a junior professor through this position aims to incorporate cutting-edge approaches based on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and de novo protein and ligand design. These methodologies will further strengthen the laboratory's international visibility and impact in two of its core strategic areas: infectious diseases and biotechnological innovation.

Répertoire national des structures de recherche (RNSR) du laboratoire d'accueil

AFMB Architecture et fonction des macromolécules biologiques (UMR7257)201220260Z

Résumé du projet scientifique

The Junior Professorship project lies at the interface of structural biology, bioinformatics and artificial intelligence (AI), applied to life and health sciences. It aims to develop innovative approaches using AI to design synthetic proteins capable of mimicking or creating enzymatic reactions, and interacting with protein partners, modulating their pathophysiological modes of action. These proteins will also be used to screen organic molecules, in silico, in vitro or in cristallo. The project is in line with the virology and glycobiology themes, taking advantage of the laboratory's equipment and expertise and its platforms (PBSIM, CAZy, MaSC). It includes challenges ranging from the design of new proteins to the validation of their functionalities, integrating interdisciplinary collaborations.

Résumé du projet d'enseignement

The project will be integrated into the CIVIS European University, the Master's program in Structural Biology and Bioinformatics, as well as the doctoral training courses of the France 2030 TIGER initiative. It is structured around two main pillars: 1) AI in Computational Biology – Students will gain foundational knowledge in artificial intelligence and its applications in protein structure prediction and de novo protein design, with practical uses in structure interpretation, complex modeling, and drug development. 2) AI Applications in Biology and Biomedicine – This component will explore AI advancements beyond protein folding, with a particular focus on AI-driven drug discovery and virtual screening.
The overarching goal is to equip students with the skills and understanding necessary to engage with emerging AI-driven opportunities in life sciences and to support their professional development in this rapidly evolving field.
The program will integrate the site's international policy via A*MIDEX, the Plinus Cursus doctoral program, Erasmus+, and will benefit from the AFMB laboratory's networks as well as support from the H2020 program.

Environnement Financier

• Total financé (dont package ANR) : k€
• Total du projet : k€

Diffusion scientifique

The dissemination of the results will be done through world-class scientific productions: publications, patents, software... In addition, the results will be communicated to various targets such as scientific communities, media, decision makers, general public, schools, etc., with an adapted calendar. Specific tools may be developed such as websites, newsletters, meetings, international symposia, summer schools and conferences.

Science ouverte

The CNRS is developing a strong policy in favor of open science. Open science consists of making research results "as accessible as possible and closed as necessary". As such, the CNRS aims to make 100% of the texts of publications resulting from the work of its laboratories accessible , in particular through deposit in HAL. The data produced must also be made available and reusable, except for specific restrictions. In addition, the guiding principles of individual evaluation have been revised in accordance with the DORA declaration, to be more qualitative and to take into account all facets of the researcher's profession.

Science et société

The relationship between science and society is now recognized as a full dimension of scientific activity. The project will develop this dimension in synergy with all the partners. The resulting research work will contribute to informing public decision-making. Participatory science initiatives may be initiated with actors from the project’s socio-economic and cultural eco-system.

Indicateurs

The activity will be evaluated in particular on the basis of scientific production (publications, software, patents, etc.), on institutional and private partnerships formalized by contracts, on international presence, on the promotion of work to multidisciplinary scientific communities, on innovation and its transfer to society and on scientific dissemination to non-specialist audiences.

Modalités d'organisation des auditions

Seul(e)s seront convoqué(e)s aux auditions les candidat(e)s sélectionné(e)s sur dossier par la commission de sélection