La Rochelle University is recruiting a Postdoctoral Researcher IN COMPARATIVE ONCOLOGY - CANCER RESISTANCE AND SOMATIC MUTATION RATE on a 2-year fixed-term contract.

Description of employer

Why not join a bold and innovative university?

La Rochelle University was created by Michel Crépeau as a result of a determined initiative by the local authorities. From its inception in 1993, the university has set out on a path of differentiation.

Thirty years later, as the university landscape recomposes itself, it continues to assert its original vision, based on a strong identity and bold projects, in a human-scale establishment located in an exceptional setting.

Internationally recognised for its research and exchange programmes and for the quality of its teaching, La Rochelle University welcomes around 1,000 foreign students of more than 90 different nationalities among its 8,700 students. Internationally recognised for its research and exchange programmes and for the quality of its teaching, La Rochelle University welcomes around 1,000 foreign students of more than 90 different nationalities among its 8,700 students, Recognised internationally for its research and exchange programmes and for the quality of its teaching, La Rochelle University welcomes around 1,000 foreign students of more than 90 different nationalities to its 8,700-strong student body and employs nearly 1,000 staff (lecturers, research professors and administrative and support staff).

 Anchored in a region with very distinct coastal characteristics, La Rochelle University has turned this uniqueness into a real signature, serving a new model. Its research is focused on the theme of Urban, Sustainable and Intelligent Coastlines (LUDI).

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Service description

The person recruited will join the interdisciplinary UMRi CNRS/LA ROCHELLE UNIVERSITE LIENSs (LIttoral ENvironnement SociétéS) laboratory, including around 140 researchers and technicians in La Rochelle.

The candidate will be working in the research teams led by Mathieu Giraudeau (UMR 7266 LIENSs, University of La Rochelle, France) working on cancer resistance in wild organisms and those of Alex Cagan (University of Cambridge, UK) working on the accumulation of somatic mutations.

The post is fully funded for 2 years by a Chaire d'Excellence Nouvelle Aquitaine awarded to Mathieu Giraudeau. The post-doc hired will spend time in France and the UK (the time spent at each university can be discussed).

Missions

Every organism accumulate mutations in his DNA cells while ageing. While most of these mutations are thought to have no impact on the way the body functions, mutations in certain genomic regions can transform healthy cells into cancerous cells. It is only recently that it has become possible to study this transformation of healthy cells into malignant cells directly, thanks to advances in the precision of genome sequencing technologies. This work reveals how different cell types accumulate mutations at different rates (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03822-7) and how cells carrying cancerous mutations can spread and colonise apparently healthy tissues as we age (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30337457). While we are learning a great deal about how these processes work in humans, we know virtually nothing about other species. We recently discovered that somatic mutation rates vary considerably between mammalian species (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04618-z), which could partly explain the differences in cancer risk observed between species (https:/www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04224-5). Although this work provided a better understanding of how mutation rates vary from one species to another, it was limited to a single cell type in 16 mammalian species. A more comprehensive study of mutational processes in a larger number of species with different susceptibilities to cancer would greatly advance our knowledge of carcinogenesis in different species.

By taking blood tissue samples from frozen collections and prospectively from necropsies, we can extract DNA and perform next-generation DNA sequencing using an ultra-precise sequencing method (https:/www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03477-4). Using this data, we will compare mutational processes between species and link them to cancer risk, longevity and other life-history traits. In addition, a mutational signature analysis will be performed on these data to deduce the different mutational processes that contributed to the mutations detected in each sample. Studying how different species accumulate these somatic mutations as they age promises to advance our understanding of why cancer risk varies from species to species. This may ultimately lead to the identification of mechanisms by which certain species are able to reduce their risk of cancer. This work will also give us a better understanding of how mutations accumulate, a fundamental biological process.

In summary, this work will help to contextualise emerging data on mutational processes in humans, with relevance to our understanding of human cancers, and will reveal the relationship between cancer rate, lifespan and mutation across the tree of life.

Activities

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Comparing mutational processes between species and relating them to cancer risk, longevity and other life-history characteristics using data
• Analyse the mutational signature to deduce the different mutational processes that have contributed to the mutations detected in each sample
• The list of activities is not exhaustive and may be discussed during the interview.

These activities are not exhaustive and may change according to the needs of the project.