PhD candidate or Postdoctoral fellow in Perturbational Systems Biology in Liver Regeneration

PhD candidate or Postdoctoral fellow in Perturbational Systems Biology in Liver Regeneration

Nature Careers, United States

about 3 hours ago

Location:

Ghent, KENTUCKY

Job Type:

FullTime

DescriptionWe are seeking a motivated new PhD candidate or Postdoctoral fellow who wants to join an exciting collaborative research program within the VIB-Center for Inflammation Research between the Guilliams and the Saelens team.

Research Project In this research project you will in vivo CRISPR screens to study the molecular mechanisms driving liver regeneration. This project is supported by an ERC Advanced Grant (2025 - 2030). Mammals have a poor regenerative capacity as compared to distant vertebrate relatives, such as salamanders that can regenerate limbs and organs throughout life. The ability to regenerate organs most probably originated as a derivative of normal developmental growth, rather than as a novel adaptive trait. All vertebrates display an abundant capacity for organ growth in the neonatal window, but only a restricted set of species can efficiently reactivate the neonatal organ growth program in adulthood. Sadly, the human is not one of these species, and this means that human regenerative medicine represents an enormous challenge. The liver is one of the only organs that has maintained some regenerative capacity in adult mammals. The goal of our liver regeneration research is to understand the molecular mechanisms driving liver regeneration so well that we can manipulate the molecular circuits coordinating tissue growth to boost the regenerative capacity of the liver. In both humans and rodents there is a ten-fold increase in liver mass between birth and young adulthood. The neonatal liver growth capacity can increase further, as neonatal mice even survive a partial hepatectomy. We hypothesize that the coordinated proliferation of liver cells is orchestrated by evolutionary conserved molecular circuits that ensures liver function and avoids organ failure during the rapid neonatal tissue growth. The adult liver has better re-growth capacity than other organs, but this remains far below the neonatal growth capacity. The adult liver can replenish up to 70% of its mass after surgical resection, allowing the removal of liver tumors. However, for a liver resection to be safe, the liver remnant should be at least 30% of the initial liver volume, putting the maximal adult liver growth capacity at a three-fold increase. If the remaining liver is too small, the patient has high risk of developing the Small-For-Size Syndrome (SFSS), a post-operative failure causing death of one in three patients. For decades scientists have tried to boost hepatocyte proliferation to accelerate liver regeneration. However, while signals involved in hepatocyte proliferation are known, all attempts to pharmacologically augment regeneration by boosting hepatocyte proliferation have so far failed. In our research, we will step away from the conventional hepatocyte-centric view of liver regeneration. We propose a paradigm shift in which we consider the liver as a repeated structure of integrated liver modules and hypothesize that the key to successful liver regeneration is to maintain the integrity of each individual liver module, as this will be vital to maintain the function of liver cells during organ growth. We have developed in vivo single-cell CRISPR technologies to screen for dozens of molecular factors during liver regeneration in vivo . We will these technologies to unravel the causal circuits driving the regenerative programs in the distinct liver cells.

You will be embedded in a close-knit team composed of biomedical experts, technologists and computational experts, providing a unique atmosphere where the discovery of the causal circuits driving liver regeneration is gained through the application of novel probabilistic deep-learning models that automatically extract mechanistic and statistical knowledge from your in vivo perturbational omics data.

This interdisciplinary atmosphere has been a main catalyst for many past successes: europepmc.org/article/MED/35021063 , europepmc.org/article/MED/31819264 , europepmc.org/article/MED/31561945 , europepmc.org/article/MED/39747019

Profile Master's in bio-engineering, medicine, molecular biology, immunology, or related FELASA certification Experience in either in regeneration, immunology or hepatology. Strong interest in all. Excellent communication skills and fluency in English. A collaborative mindset and enthusiasm to work in an international and interdisciplinary environment Experience with highly multiplexed flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Experience in single-cell or spatial omics. Embedding within a team containing both wetlab experts and computational experts, with extensive experience in single-cell and spatial multi-omics and in vivo CRISPR screens. Access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and core facilities in a vibrant, world-class research environment operating at an international level Dedicated training programs available through VIB and Ghent University to broaden your expertise and enhance your skillset A strong network of international collaborators Competitive salary and full benefits. Motivation letter of 1-1.5 pages. Curriculum vitae University degree certificates Want to ? Sent your application through the online tool at

For more information, you are welcome to contact Prof. Martin Guilliams (martin.guilliamsugent.be ) or Prof. Wouter Saelens (wouter.saelensugent.be )

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to creating and sustaining an inclusive, respectful, and collaborative environment where everyone can thrive. We value diversity in all its forms - including but not limited to gender identity, ethnicity, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic background, and family situation. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities, and we are dedicated to providing equal opportunities and actively promoting a culture of belonging.

Feel free to let us know in your cover letter if there are any past or current circumstances that can impact your application.

By embracing the unique perspectives and experiences of our team members, we aim to foster innovation and advance excellence in research. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is essential for scientific creativity, effective collaboration, and impactful discovery.