The MSCA-DN “Signalling Synthetic Cells (SigSynCell)” invites applications for 12 PhD Fellowships.

Current biotechnology solutions based on living cells bear the intrinsic limitations that cells are subject to the random process of Natural Evolution, a major drawback for technological applications. Biotechnologies also need to demonstrate that they can be embedded into environmental life cycles to become sustainable options. The construction of synthetic cells therefore emerges as a ground-breaking new biotechnology that can overcome the limitation of current biotechnology solutions. Early forms of life have spontaneously emerged from non-living matter in prebiotic processes involving self-assembly, self-organization and elementary chemical reactivity in confined spaces. We now have at hand in the laboratory the tools to study these processes and elucidate their role in living systems. We are therefore now at a time where we can find and implement a generic framework for the construction of cellular systems from basic principles and elementary building blocks. In the consortium SIGSYNCELL, we want to develop synthetic cells as systems having the key characteristics function of living systems: their capacity to interact with their environment. In a  laboratory environment, both the cells and the environment can be fully engineered to gradually control and build up the complexity of synthetic cell systems.

SIGSYNCELL is a doctoral network funded by the European Commission via Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), whose goal is training through research. It is a consortium that brings together a dozen European academic partners, in addition to private companies, coordinated by the CNRS in Bordeaux (F).

Network members:

• CNRS (coordinator)
• AMOLF
• University of Muenster
• University of Ljubjiana
• University of Granada
• Wageningen University
• Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg
• University College London
• Imperial College London

The PhD projects:

DC01: Harvesting energy through light and the transport of chemicals in Synthetic Cells - PI Contact JC Baret jean-christophe.baret@u-bordeaux.fr

DC02: Light-responsive coacervates to regulate biomolecule localization and reactivity - PI Contact Nicolas Martin nicolas.martin@crpp.cnrs.fr

DC03: Transmembrane protein mimics for communication between synthetic cells - PI Contact Kristina Ganzinger K.Ganzinger@amolf.nl

DC04: Spatiotemporal control over transport and signalling through photoswichable pore formation - PI Contact Séraphine Wegner wegnerse@uni-muenster.de

DC05: Lipid vesicles in controlled non-equilibrium conditions - PI Contact Jure Derganc jure.derganc@mf.uni-lj.si

DC06: Stimuli-responsive signalling of reconfigurable lipid vesicles - PI Contact Laura Alvarez Frances laura.alvarez-frances@u-bordeaux.fr

DC07: Remote actuation of synthetic cells by external force fields - PI Contact Laura Rodriguez-Arco l_rodriguezarco@go.ugr.es

DC08: Intracellular communication through designer membraneless organelles - PI Contact Siddharth Deshpande siddharth.deshpande@wur.nl

DC09: Transmembrane signalling for memory in synthetic cells-  PI Contact Kerstin Göpfrich k.goepfrich@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de

DC10: Synthetic cells as messengers in diverse communities of cells - PI Contact Séraphine Wegner wegnerse@uni-muenster.de

DC11: Remote control of transmembrane signal transduction in synthetic cells - PI Contact Michael Booth m.j.booth@ucl.ac.uk

DC12: Synthetic exosomes for long-distance cell-cell communication - PI Contact Yuval Elani y.elani@imperial.ac.uk

MSCA Doctoral Networks provide attractive salary terms and benefits, including a living allowance of around €3,400 (country correction coefficient applies), a mobility allowance of €600 and, a family allowance (€660 if applicable). Note these are gross values and employer costs or other deductions depend on the recruiting host.

Mobility conditions

• MSCA networks require that applicants must not have studied/worked in the host country for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the position’s start date.
• The individual scientific projects are planned within one of  the partner Host Institution and every Doctoral candidate will spend a part of their doctoral studies in another consortium laboratory (a maximum of 12 months of their 36 months PhDs).