Jobs and Study Opportunities

Post-doctoral Position, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona

The group of Joan Seoane within the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, is looking for a post-doctoral research fellow.

Our main field of interest is the understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the genesis and progression of glioma.

Glioma is the most common and aggressive tumour of the brain and its most malignant form, glioblastoma multiforme, is nowadays virtually not curable. Very little is known about glioma genesis and progression at the molecular level and not much progress has been achieved in the treatment of this disease during the last years. The understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the biology of glioma is essential for the development of successful and rational therapeutic strategies. Our approach is based on a tight collaboration with clinical researchers of the Vall d’Hebron hospital and the study of patient-derived tumours. We analyse human biopsies, generate primary cultures of human tumour cells, isolate the stem-cell-like population of patient-derived gliomas and generate mouse models for glioma based on the orthotopical inoculation of human glioma stem cells in the mouse brain to generate tumours with the same characteristics as the original human tumour. Moreover, we participate in ongoing clinical trials obtaining critical information about the biology of human tumours. We expect that our results will help understand the biology of glioma and cancer, and we aspire to translate our discoveries to a clinical ambit identifying molecular markers of diagnosis and prognosis, markers of response to therapies, and unveil new therapeutic targets against this deadly disease.

Postdoctoral candidates must have a strong background in molecular and cellular biology, at least one article as first author, and high motivation.

The application will be open until the position is filled.

Interested candidates, please send a letter of intention, CV, and two references to Joan Seoane (jseoane@vhio.net)

Selected references related to the field:
S. Peñuelas, J. Anido, R. M. Prieto-Sánchez, G. Folch, I. Barba, I. Cuartas, D. García-Dorado, M. A. Poca, J. Sahuquillo, J. Baselga, J. Seoane “TGF-beta increases glioma-initiating cell self-renewal through the induction of LIF in human glioblastoma” Cancer Cell (2009) 15, 315-327

A. Bruna, R.S. Darken, F. Rojo, A. Ocaña, S. Peñuelas, A. Arias, R. Paris, A. Tortosa, J. Mora, J. Baselga, J. Seoane, “High TGFbeta-Smad activity confers poor prognosis in glioma patients and promotes cell proliferation depending on the methylation of the PDGF-B gene” Cancer Cell (2007) 11, 147-160
 

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