PhD position on radiobiology (M/F)

Job Description

Thesis Subject

: in vitro individual Cellular response to Irradiation following RadioAmplification in the presence of metal Nanoparticles (CIRANo)
Objective and Scientific Themes:
This PhD project aims to study the response of cancer cells to ionizing radiation in the presence of radio-enhancing metallic nanoparticles.
The objective is to characterize the heterogeneity of responses at the single-cell level and to identify the mechanisms of radiosensitization induced by these nanoparticles. The project falls within the field of quantitative radiobiology, at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology.

Research Project Overview:
The CIRANo project is based on a collaboration between two CNRS units at Paris-Saclay:
- IJCLab (UMR 9012), particularly the Physics-Health division, where real-time videomicroscopy approaches enable tracking of living cells after irradiation and reconstruction of their lineages using the CellLineageTrack (CLT) algorithm. This method provides access to individual dynamic parameters (cell cycle, fate, motility).
- ISMO (UMR 8214), where metallic nanoparticles (Gd, Pt, etc.) are developed to locally amplify the effects of ionizing radiation.
The PhD work will consist of combining these approaches in order to:
- analyze individual cellular responses in the presence of nanoparticles, without irradiation and in combination with irradiation,
- compare different experimental modalities (types of nanoparticles, irradiation conditions, cell lines),
- develop and adapt existing analysis tools,
- establish correlations between dynamic parameters and cell fate.

Scientific, Material, and Financial Conditions:
The PhD candidate will be hosted at IJCLab and will carry out part of the work at ISMO.
They will benefit from:
- an experimental environment within the laboratory, including imaging and irradiation platforms (BioALTO, TWAC, Institut Curie Orsay, Institut Gustave Roussy),
- data analysis and image processing tools (notably CPBM at ISMO),
- national and international collaborations (notably Barcelona, Krakow, CERN).
The project is part of the MODERATO program (IN2P3), funded through internal resources.

Expected Outcomes and Dissemination:
The results will be published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented at conferences.
The development of analysis tools may be shared within the scientific community. The results will contribute to improving the understanding of radio-enhancement effects with a view toward applications in radiotherapy.

Selected references :
- https://gitlab.in2p3.fr/josephine.courouble/celltrack
- Courouble J., Plaszczynski S. and Seksek O. (2026). Videomicroscopy reveals individual response of MCF7 cells to X-ray irradiation, PLoS One, 21, e0345480.
- Courouble J., Klebowski B., Seksek O., Jakubczyk P., Lacombe S., Porcel E., Depciuch J. and Parlinska-Wojtan M. (2025). Proton beam-induced effects of platinum nanoparticles and their intracellular localization. Colloids and Surfaces B Biointerfaces, 257, 115114.
- M. Billoir, D. Crepin, S. Plaszczynski, B. Grammaticos, O. Seksek & M. Badoual (2025) The temporal response of a glioma cell population to irradiation: modelling the effect of dose and cell density. R. Soc. Open Sci. 12 : 241917
- P. Maury, R. Hirayama et al (2024) Synergistic effect of Gemcitabin-loaded metal organic frameworks nanoparticles with particle therapy. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 124721
- C. Chargari, P. Maury et al (2024) Theragnostic Gadolinium-Based Nanoparticles Safely Augment X-ray Radiation Effects in Patients with Cervical Cancer. ACS nano 18 (26), 16516-16529

Your Work Environment

The PhD candidate will be recruited within IJCLab (http://ijclab.in2p3.fr), a joint research unit of the CNRS and Université Paris-Saclay, located on the Orsay campus. The project is carried out in collaboration with ISMO (http://www.ismo.universite-paris-saclay.fr).
Supervision will be provided by Olivier Seksek (CNRS researcher, biologist) and Erika Porcel (Associate Professor at Université Paris-Saclay, medical physicist).
The PhD student will work in an interdisciplinary environment combining chemistry, biology, and physics, with access to shared experimental infrastructures. They will be affiliated with the PHENIICS Doctoral School (link) under the “Physics and Chemistry for Health” track.
IJCLab bases its recruitment policy on the promotion of equality, diversity, and inclusion. These core values support both the professional development of staff, key contributors to collective success, and the growth of the laboratory itself.

Constraints and risks

- Strong experimental activity in the laboratory (cell biology, nanoparticle synthesis, etc.).
- Occasional travel within France and abroad.
- As the position is located in a Restricted Regime Zone (ZRR), recruitment is subject to obtaining a favorable opinion from the HFSD (Haut Fonctionnaire Securité Défense). Consequently, the start date is indicative and may be postponed.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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